Rune Reader (Old Version)
by Bluedragon312
Summary: When Ron and Hermione leave him hanging in the Forest of Dean, Harry discovers a present from Dumbledore that changes everything. A book called Rune Reader, a pen for writing runes, and a portrait of an eager to atone for himself Dumbledore. HP/DG/TD
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't Own Harry Potter

Scenario: Canon until Ron decides to leave. Then, take it as though Harry said " Hold on a minute. Let's try to talk this out" t, but in the end, everyone's pissed. I purposely hold out on that dialogue for later, so keep in mind that something DID happen before the start of this story that is immediately relevant and completely in this story.

A/N: This is an edited chapter. Mostly, this is because I think that some people got the scenario wrong, and they were wondering what in the world is going on here.

Prologue: You Got Lucky

" Leave then. Go. And don't look back. Either of you,", Harry shouted as both of his 'friends' declared that they were leaving him. Hermione looked apologetic, but Harry wouldn't hear any of it, " Me or him. Make the choice. NOW!"

Ron looked angry, but Harry ignored him. Hermione protested, " Harry, that isn't fair. You can't force me…."

He cut her off, " Damn right I can! This is MY quest! This is my journey. MY LIFE! Not yours. I didn't force you to come, and I damn sure won't force you to stay. In fact, I told you not to come. But you wouldn't listen."

Wands whipped out, and quickly, Ron fell to the floor stunned. Harry was too fast for him, and his shield charm prevented Hermione from retaliating. " Go. Now. But remember, you got lucky."

Hermione shrieked, " What do you mean I got lucky?"

" You got lucky, when I found you, girl. Otherwise, you wouldn't have any friends at all,", Harry said with a laugh at the look on her face, " I hope he works out for you. Especially once you remember what you've lost today. Now go. And don't you ever dare come crawling back either. If you do, I will kill you." Harry hissed out, pure vehemence and venom leaking out into every word. He watched the tears falling down her face, but he didn't care. He was beyond tears at this point. If anything, they only made him angrier. His expression had changed from just anger, as it had when Ron had announced his intentions, to pure hatred. This time, there was no turning back. He didn't care anymore.

He watched, wand pointed straight at her chest, a reductor curse on his lips, as she dragged Ron from the tent. Harry sneered, " Don't let the Dark Lord catch you on the way out!"

He vaguely heard, " Fuck You,", in the distance. He turned back and heard a ringing noise coming from the trunk where Hermione kept her stuff. He cracked it open, pulled out the copy of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_, a strange looking pen, and a book that said, _Rune Reader._ The buzzing continued, so he rummaged around until he found a small locket not that much unlike the one that he was now wearing. He opened it, and Albus Dumbledore was winking at him.

Harry pulled out his wand to blast it, but the locket spoke, " Don't Harry, I am aware of my crimes and are atoning for them as is. I can only help you now."

" Speak now, or hold your pieces old man." Harry hissed at Dumbledore. The Dumbledore flinched a little, " What happened?"

" Those fools just walked out on me."

" You mean, Ron and Hermione?"

" Yes."

" Their misfortune."

Harry fell backward a little at that remark. He had expected the old fool to tell him to go find them and bring them back, but instead he muttered, " They'll get theirs when the time comes, Harry, but that time is not now. I sent Ms. Granger a little unofficial inheritance that was actually meant for you, but I see that she never gave it to you. The book is called Rune Reader. It contains instructions on how to become a Rune Reader, one of the most powerful, yet unusually common, branches of magic in the world."

" I'm guessing it is also needlessly complex?" Harry sighed as he opened the book. Dumbledore replied, " Actually, it isn't. There is more in this Forest than you may think. I knew you would head for the Forest of Dean, because I remembered Ms Granger saying something about going there on a vacation. That forest is actually a very sacred place."

Harry listened, " There are five Places of Power scattered throughout the Forest of Dean. These places were placed by the ancient Druids as a way to preserve their powers of Rune Sight. The Druids knew that there was far more that you could do with runes than with a wand or a staff. So they hid the power to create your own runes away, and the power to read them as they were meant to be read. Open the book Harry."

Harry opened the book, and the first passage read, "_Read the lines that no one reads. They are written everywhere. In the forest of the Ancient Magics, one can find the language of the Runes. Only there, is the key to becoming a Reader of the Runes."_

Harry sighed angrily, because he couldn't read anymore of the book, it was all in ancient runes. He angrily whispered, " I wish Ron hadn't talked me out of taking Ancient Runes back in third year. Remind me to make him pay."

" Those runes are so ancient that I doubt even Merlin could read them if he didn't go through the ritual. What's more, is that I can't tell you what they say either, it would destroy my portrait, and I need Severus to 'arrange' for you to stay with him."

Harry raged, " That slimy bastard? You would have me stay with a known Death Eater?"

" Calm down Harry. Snape has, and always will be, on our side. And I cannot lie. He is performing a task for me as we speak that involves a certain wand and the death of a boy named Draco."

" That wouldn't happen to be the Elder Wand would it?"

Dumbledore smiled, " I knew I should have let the Hat sort you into Slytherin. He was quite insistent you know, even after you begged it to send you to Gryffindor. Anyway, in that book, is a map that shows the location of the first Place of Power. After you find it, and gain the power of Runic Creation from it, it will reveal the second place, which will give you the power of Runic Defense, and so on."

Harry pulled out the pen, " So, what does this pen do?"

" That is a Calligraphy pen. A blood calligraphy pen at that. You will have to use it to write runes. Blood Runes are the most powerful of all runes. Once you have gained the Runic Writing power, I will tell you more on how to use it, but for now, it is useless, save as a Blood Quill. Well, I hear Severus coming back, so I need to say Ta-Ta!"

Harry closed the locket, feeling like he had just learned more from Dumbledore in about five minutes than he had for six damn years, if you don't count that junk about Riddle's past. He gazed at the map, and was surprised to notice that the first Place of Power was a five minute walk from his current location. He strapped his jacket on, and walked out into the cool, autumn air.

He watched the path that seemed to unfold out in front of him carefully. Wouldn't be nice for something to leap out at him would it? After five minutes, he saw what looked like an arch. It said something in runes, that he couldn't read. _Great. Probably a warning, and I can't read it because I don't have Rune Reading._

But nothing attacked him as he passed under the arch way. Instead, he noticed that the place of power looked kind of like the Department of Mysteries Death Room. The majority of the clearing was taken up by a giant arch way, but this curtain was like an all-seeing eye. A passage was engraved on stone beneath it. _Speak the Words. Gain the Power._

Harry racked his brains, but the only thing that kept popping up were the opening lines of the book. " Read the Lines that no one reads. They are written everywhere."

At the calling, the archway glimmered, and pulled him towards it. He felt an urging to close his eyes. The light burned into his closed eyes, burning through it, feeling like it was trying to blind him. He felt power tingling in his arms as the light grew brighter and brighter, and a voice whispered, " You have been found worthy, mortal. Do not fail us."

Suddenly, the light was gone, and he felt more powerful. A small rune floated next to his head, he had no idea what it meant, but it looked like an infinity symbol, an laying down eight. He pulled out the map, and to his frustration, saw that the next Place of Power was way out there, almost two days walking away from his current location. And as much as he would have liked to have Apparated there, he was suspicious of the potential defenses of the Places. So he returned to his campsite.

After running the usual detection and concealment charms, Harry entered the tent, and cracked Dumbledore's locket open. Funny how Dumbledore always seemed to know when to show up, because he had just reappeared. He smiled at the circling rune, " Well done, I'm guessing you are camped not far from the actual Place?"

Harry voiced his concerns, " Dumbledore, no I wasn't. I have learned, that there is no such thing as a coincidence. Is it possible that Hermione was going to try this? Because it was by her suggestion that we camped here, and she wanted us to move towards the area of the Second Place of Power."

" I would have no idea, Harry. But I assure you, I had nothing to do with the scheming of your so-called friends, in either life or death. Contrary to popular belief, I had absolutely no schemes to take your money, to have you marry Ginny Weasley, or for you to be a sacrifice. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to discover the method I now choose in enough time to implement before my death. But I am sorry my boy, I had thought that the only way to kill the Dark Lord would be to have you die first."

Harry blazed in anger for a brief moment, but asked, " So what is this new method?"

" A runic ritual that will require you to become a Rune Reader. This ritual will handle the horcruxes, so you don't need any of them besides the one that you have right now to act as a catalyst. By the way, don't try to apparate to any of the sites. It will cause the quest to fail, and know that none of your powers are permanent until you complete the whole quest. Enough of that, though, it appears that you have quite the trip tomorrow, so get some sleep."

A/N: As stated above, not a super power Harry. He does get training for this, and it isn't a unique only to him power either.

Information: See my profile for more information


	2. Chapter 1 Calling in the Air

Chapter 1 Calling in the Air Tonight

A/N: A glimpse of a new and Improved Arthur Weasley in this chapter.

Harry's limbs ached as he approached the second Place of Power. Two nights with no rest, and no sleep, they took their toll on a man, but Harry was a determined bastard if nothing else. He saw the arch, and ducked beneath it to see a similar looking clearing. Same All-Seeing Eye, and same words. _Speak the Words. Gain the Power._

" Read the lines that no one reads. They are written everywhere."

He instinctively shut his eyes as a red light flashed forward. At first he was worried he had been hit by a stunner, but he felt the power embrace him again. The gossamer whisper slithered out, " _You have been found Worthy. Continue your quest"_

Harry opened his eyes, and saw a second rune fluttering around his head. The symbol was that of a shield. He saw a very faint, but silvery barrier form around him. The barrier hissed with power, and he knew it would block most spells. He unfurled the map, and to his luck, the third Place was very close, so close in fact, that he didn't bother to go back to camp.

He drew his wand, and stalked the short path toward the next Place. This time, though, something attacked him. A bowtruckle. Since he didn't have anything to give it, he had to drive it off with an Incendio. He just noticed that that was going to cause him some problems. If the Bowtruckle came back and attacked him while he was in the middle of the ceremony, things could go bad in a hurry.

He entered the clearing, and saw the now familiar Eye. But something was different about this one. There was a guardian. A rather large tree like entity with an axe ( ironic) stood in front of the arch. A whistling voice purred into the night, " _Things will not be so easy this time, Mortal. Prepare for battle"_

_Fuck._ Harry thought as he jumped away from the large shards of wood the creature fired at him. He shouted, " Incendio!" firing a blast of hot fire to incinerate the razor like leaves that were striking at him. He fired a bludgeoner curse to dent the wooden shield that seemed to be fire proof. The attack dented it a little, but Harry had to keep moving to avoid the shards and leaves.

He winced as a leaf sliced his arm, and then groaned at the pain in his muscles as he tried to roll away. He held his wand up and shouted, " Augue!"

A large ball of flame burst forth, and exploded onto a curtain of leaves. When the flames dissipated, he was surprised to see the creature unfazed, but the crown of leaves on its tree like head were burnt to a crisp. So he fired again, " Augue!"

Second shot hit home, setting the creature on fire, but this enraged the creature, and it attacked with greater ferocity. He tried to roll away, but his muscles were tired and aching from his journey, and his mind was fuzzy. So he could only stand and fire. The creature was almost completely engulfed in flames, but it kept attacking, so Harry tried a new spell, " Flamma iaculis!"

A long jet of flames shot forth in a continuous stream like dragon's breath, stopping the creature in its tracks. The hissing of tree sap reached his ears as he held the stream going. Finally, nothing more than ashes remained of the creature. The whisper slithered through, "_Well done, mortal. Normal men would have been too tired to take on the Treant, but you persevered. Let this be a lesson to make sure to get some rest before the next try."_

Harry nodded, almost too tired to approach the altar and gasp out the words, " Read the lines that no one reads. They are written everywhere."

A blue light engulfed him, and he found himself struggling to stand as he accepted the power of the Runes. When the light faded, he saw a new rune. A sword. In his right hand, he noticed that he now had a bracer with a runic switch on it. He twisted the switch, and a blood red sword began to protrude from the bracer. At the maximum setting, it was nearly three foot long, and at a medium setting, it could be used as a wrist blade.

He sighed as he began his journey back to his tent.

( Hogwarts)

" Albus, how fares Harry with his quest?"

Dumbledore stirred from his sleep, " I am unsure. He has yet to return from the second, but if I recall, the third Place of Power is not far from the second. I pray that he has not made the colossal mistake of trying to get two at once."

Severus Snape, in all his greasy glory, scowled, " This is Potter we're talking about Albus. Of course he tried to take two at once. Even I knew not to do that."

Albus sighed, " Severus, I know of the boy's impatience. I have seen it myself. I sincerely wish he had taken more after Lily than his eyes."

Snape mournfully whispered, " I don't."

Albus knew better than to taunt his apprentice on his love for Harry's mother, and changed subjects, " How did your task with Draco go?"

" Malfoy is dead, I have the wand, and the Dark Lord is none the wiser. Now, I just need to find Potter so I can basically forfeit a duel with him."

" It doesn't work that way, Severus. He will actually have to beat you, and you will actually have to fight him. Don't underestimate him, Severus."

Snape sighed, " I've done that too many times already. I thought for a fact he would be caught in that Weasley girl's trap, but he seems to have evaded that small town attempt."

Dumbledore sighed in frustration as well, " I confess, my worst sin was to give him to the Dursleys. For that, I would have frozen in Lake Coccytus for all eternity, alongside Judas and many others. But that doesn't mean this portrait cannot attempt to atone for my mistakes.

I knew the boy would need friends when he came to Hogwarts. But I should have known that the Weasleys would be so gold hungry that they would actually try to use a love potion on him. And to think, that the one girl he probably should have been with, willingly abandons him in the woods to be with that piece of worthless trash Ron Weasley."

Severus listened to Dumbledore go on a rant with apprehension. But he agreed with all the points. The Weasleys had been the Wizarding World's equivalent to the Muggle World's White Trash for hundreds of years. They hadn't owned anything more than five acres since their fourth generation of existence. And to think, the Weasleys were descendents of Godric Gryffindor.

Dumbledore was reaching this point, " And to think that those cowards are the descendents of Godric Gryffindor? What happened to the other houses?"

Snape answered, " Rowena Ravenclaw's only daughter died because the Bloody Baron was pissed she wouldn't marry him, though I think she had a son as well. The Dark Lord killed Hufflepuff's last descendant. He is Slytherin's heir. So I guess the pattern is that most of the Founding Houses fell into poverty."

Dumbledore mused, " I wonder if the Weasleys know they are Gryffindor's descendents?"

Snape again, " If they did, then they would also know that Potter was also closely related to them. His great ancestor, Ignotus Peverell, was the father of Godric's mother. The Potter's are descendant from the son, the Weasleys are from the daughter."

Suddenly, Dumbledore changed subjects, " Were you able to save the Greengrasses?"

Snape was shaken by the sudden change in subject, " Only Daphne. She was in good spirits the last I checked at my house. Her sister joined the Dark Lord, and helped kill their parents."

" What about Davis?"

" I was able to keep Malfoy off of Davis. In fact, I saved Tracey when I killed Malfoy to get the Wand."

" Speaking of Draco. How did you kill him? Didn't you swear an oath to help him?"

Snape smirked, " That oath didn't say anything about killing him now did it?"

" You're a sneaky bastard you know that Severus?"

Snape nodded in a prideful manner, " I know, Albus. I know."

( Burrow)

" What do you mean you abandoned him? Cowards the lot of you!"

It was the only time Ron had ever seen his father as mad as his mother. But his mother wasn't mad at them for some reason. Only his father. He rounded on Hermione, " You worthless piece of trash, nothing more than a torn out page from a book. Nothing more than someone who bears the name of a character worth thousands more than her own. I can almost understand my son, he's always been a jealous git. A coward at best. A rat at worst. But you? I thought you were his friends."

Ron interjected, " But he threatened to kill us if we ever went back to him!"

" Do you believe he would kill his only two friends?"

Hermione and Ron looked at each other. Ron had been stunned, but he had listened to Hermione talk about the coldness, the hardness, the sheer hate on his face when he ordered her to leave and never come back. " Mr. Weasley, he looked so much like You-Know-Who when he issued the order, I thought I was actually standing before him. He had his wand placed firmly on my sternum, and he had blasting hex on the tip of his tongue. I almost thought he was going to put me under the Crucio."

Mr. Weasley hissed, " You would have deserved it. Get out of my sight!"

He fired a knock back jinx at the both to blast them up the stairs. He turned to Molly, " If you had anything to do with this, then by God, you will be punished in such a way that you will never forget. I haven't forgotten nor forgiven how you got me to marry you with a Love Potion. If you gave that poor boy any, you will feel a wrath worse than the Dark Lord's."

Unfortunately for Mrs. Weasley, a small vial rolled out of Ginny's room. Arthur picked it up, knowing that Ginny had rolled it down on purpose. On the side, read _Amortentia._

Arthur conjured ropes, tied up his wife, and put her in a full body bind. He levitated her up the stairs, and tied her to his bed, with the words, " I'll be back for you."

Arthur conjured a Messenger Patronus, he noticed that his Patronus had changed from a weasel to a panther, signifying that he had finally grown some balls, and sent it out to whatever Order members could get it. He also sent one to Harry, though he had no idea where he was. He wagered he wasn't in the Forest of Dean anymore, but he sent one anyway.

" Thank Merlin, no fuck Merlin, thank God those can't be traced."

With that, he went back up to his bed room, ready to try out his new lust for BDSM. He "forgot" to put a silencer up. Ginny flinched as her mother screamed. So did Ron and Hermione.

( Hogwarts)

" Snape, I accosted Hermione, Ron, and my wife. Tell the Dumbledore Portrait that I am punishing them accordingly."

Snape smiled in his office, as did Dumbledore. Finally, a little justice.

( Harry)

Harry starred open mouthed at Mr. Weasley's Patronus delivered its message.

" Harry. I'm sorry for all the shit my family's put you through recently. Molly had you under a love potion, Ron and Hermione showed up at my house looking for my solace. They are being punished accordingly. I hope you find it to your satisfaction."

Harry laughed as the Patronus dissipated, cracking open the Dumbledore Locket, whispering, " You get all that?"

Dumbledore chuckled, " Yes I did, Harry my boy. I guess there really is such a thing as justice in this world. So, when are you going after the fourth?"

" I need a little rest before I go off clean across the forest. May be a week before I get there, this is a big damn forest. Doesn't look like it on the map, but when you're trying to sneak around, and avoid the paths, it's huge. I guess this is where Tolkien got his inspiration for Mirkwood from. 'Stray Not From the Path!'"

( Spinner's End)

Snape walked into his home, and made it a point to announce his presence so his refugees wouldn't try to kill him. Two of his former Slytherins, one a blonde, the other with dark brown hair, walked around the corner, wands out. _Well, Moody would be proud._

The blonde shouted, " Identify yourself!"

" Daphne, who killed your mother?"

The blonde answered, " My sister. What color is my favorite?"

Snape answered, " Sable Red, more commonly known as Gryffindor Red."

The brown haired witch asked next, " Who was over looking me when I was rescued?"

" Draco Malfoy. What favor did I pull for you?"

Tracey answered, " You negated my marriage contract with Theodore Nott and refunded the dowry at my father's request."

Snape sat down, and the two lowered their wands as Snape reset the wards. They asked, " So, what happened today?"

" Potter's friends walked out on his arrogant ass. It was quite the tragic break up I hear."

Daphne and Tracey looked at each other, " You mean that the Golden Trio is no longer in existence?"

Snape sneered, " Of course. Not surprising really, because Weasley was utter trash, and Granger was just a book worm with no leadership in her at all."

Daphne nodded, and Tracey added, " Multiply those by about ten, and you may be close. I always wondered why Potter put up with them anyway."

Snape muttered, " It appears that he was under the delusion that they were his friends, when in reality, Weasley was just trying to position his gold-digger of a sister, and Granger has poor tastes in men."

" Funny coming from the man that once pinned after Potter's mother."

Snape shouted, " You will not mention that in my presence! They are, uncomfortable memories at best, and dementor material at its finest. "

Daphne sneered, " So where is Potter?"

" He is completing a quest to become a Reader of Runes. The title sounds unimpressive, but being one myself, I can tell you that it brings great power. And great utility. How do you think I can brew some of those potions?" Snape answered with a hint of his usual sneer. Tracey and Daphne giggled like teenage girls, which Snape had to remind himself that they were, so he refrained from asking what they were laughing at. Tracey muttered, " I wonder if Potter would enjoy some new company?"

Snape sneered, " Arthur Weasley said that he told Weasley and Granger that if they ever came back, he would kill them. I don't think you would get the benefit of the doubt, assuming he even knows you exist."

" He is a guy, Severus."

Snape continued his impressive sneer, " Potter went five years without taking a girlfriend, and the one he did take blew up spectacularly. He will not be impressed."

" Yeah, but that was with Cho Chang of all people. Doesn't take a genius to know that she was just trying to use him as a Rebound Guy."

Snape shook his head, " Sorry, but I'm not familiar with this terminology."

" Of course, Mr. Virgin wouldn't be,", Tracey said, ignoring Snape's angry hiss, " A rebound guy is us girls form of what guys call a Rebound girl. After a girl gets in a really long, involved relationship, and it breaks off, the next guy she dates is usually just a springboard for who she really wants."

Snape sighed, glad for once that he had never actually dated someone. Daphne laughed at Snape, " Don't worry, Potter wouldn't be able to resist such vixens as ourselves."

Snape sighed in frustration again, " Girls, need I remind you that you are in Slytherin, and that just because you are around me, does not mean you can let your guard down? Potter effectively didn't even acknowledge your existence for six years, probably doesn't even know your names. He will not be inclined to take either of you for a romance interest, and I am certain that he won't take both of you. Despite the fact that Black rubbed off on him a little, being a womanizer is not something that did. Or so I think. If it did, it hasn't shown yet."

Daphne chuckled, " He just needs to have his eyes opened."

" Remember that having his eyes opened, meant both of his best friends walking out on him. Albus does, however, have a mission for me to go get Potter after he finishes his pilgrimage. I'll be sure to introduce him to the two of you when he gets here, assuming he doesn't kill me."

( Harry)

Harry woke up the next day, feeling better than he had in a long time. He began packing up, but he heard something. He heard someone who he thought, sounded like Hermione, so he yelled in an audible voice, " I warned you two never to come back here, or I would kill you."

The voice that responded was definitely NOT Hermione's, " Ickle baby Potter wants to play does he?"

_Oh fuck…._

Random things:

Rebound Guy/Girl: That's an American high school thing. Don't look into to it too much.

Latin

Flamma iaculis: Flamethrower

Augue: Fireball

Magical Differences: Incendio is used to generate a small burst of fire generally used for igniting things, hence, incinerate. Flamma iaculis generates a wide stream of fire that can be sustained so long as the user has the magical power to do so. Augue fires a large orb of fire.


	3. Chapter 2 The Golden Apple Choice

Chapter 2 The Golden Apple Conundrum

" Why hello Bellatrix. I wasn't expecting to see you."

" Shut it Potter, we aren't here for small talk."

" Is that you Lucius? You ready to get your ass kicked?"

He heard Lucius Malfoy growl under his mask. He heard another male growl, " Where's the mudblood and the blood traitor? I thought the intel said they were with the Potter boy."

Harry laughed loudly, drawing their attention. Lucius hissed, " What you laughing about boy?"

" The mudblood and blood traitor betrayed me. Fucking assholes ran out on me. Something about me being insane and not having a plan. Isn't that how I roll though?"

Lestrange commented, " Yes, that does seem to be when you are at your best."

Harry was a little surprised at the small compliment, but he paid no heed, only got his wand into position, " So, are we doing this or what?"

One of the Death Eaters whispered, " No way that's Potter, they said he was a nervous wreck on the run."

Harry seized the moment, " _ Flamma Iaculis!"_

The sudden gout of flame caught all five of the Death Eaters off guard, lighting them all on fire. Lucius and Bellatrix were calm, and put their robes out with water charms, but a couple simply ran around like chickens without their heads. Harry shouted, " Avada Kedavra!"

Two flashes of green, two dead Death Eaters. Bella cackled, " So baby Potter is growing up to be a man! "

Harry rolled away from the insane Death Eater, casting, " Spiritu Vocem!"

A massive blast of sound rang out across the clearing, stunning the three remaining as they covered their ears. Harry ran towards Lucius Malfoy, whose mask was cracked, and blood was running out of his ears, _Hasta Lucis!_

A spear of light shot forth, and drove through Malfoy's stomach. Not a killing blow, but blood spilt everywhere, and Malfoy hunched over in pain. Lestrange cursed, and ran at Malfoy, activating an emergency portkey, and the last three DEs disappeared. Harry sighed, but quickly shrank down the tent, packed it up, and ran off in the general direction of the next Place of Power, eager to put as much distance between him and his last known location as he could.

(Malfoy Manor)

" Bella, I am most disappointed in you."

Dark Lord Voldemort frowned at his most insane, loyal follower as she prostrated herself before him, eager to accept her punishment. Voldemore knew that not doing anything would punish her more than putting her under the Torture curse. He ordered, " How is Lucius?"

Snape answered in the back ground, " Malfoy will recover, though I doubt his hearing will ever be as clear as it once was. The spell ruptured both eardrums, and those take time to heal, even with magic. The Spear of Light Curse is something I didn't think Dumbledore would let Potter know, so I imagine he learned that somewhere else."

Voldemort hissed in anger, causing most of the DEs to shutter in fear. " How is it that the boy suddenly gathered such a knowledge of spells? Even I didn't know of this Spear of Light spell. Is it possible that the Mudblood taught him?"

Bella answered, her voice muffled, " Potter said that the Mudblood Granger and Blood traitor Weasley betrayed him. He took his anger out on us."

Voldemort smiled. A genuine smile, something no one had seen for almost fifty years. " So the boy rid himself of his limiters. What did he say he would do them?"

Bella actually trembled a little, " We overheard him packing up, and one of the female DEs that was with us said something too loudly. He thought it was Granger. His exact words were, ' I warned you two never to come back here or I would kill you.' That doesn't sound like Potter. He must have taken their betrayals badly to say the least."

Voldemort cackled, " This is good! The boy is slowly but surely, coming to the dark side. I sure hope he hurries up so I can give him these fresh baked cookies I have here."

All the Inner Circle looked at each other. Did the Dark Lord just make a joke?

( Order of the Phoenix)

" Lupin, you called this meeting of the Order. What is it?"

Remus Lupin looked upon the greatly reduced number of the Order of the Phoenix. Only twenty remained of the roughly thirty eight they had started with, and some of their casualties were very damaging. Mad Eye's in particular. Now, they were without Hestia Jones, Sturgis Podmore, Emmeline Vance, Amelia Bones, and a whole slew of others.

" My friends, my fellow warriors. I call this meeting today to name a new leader of the Order of the Phoenix. We will now vote on this action."

Kingsley raised his hand, " I second the motion."

Almost two thirds of the Order raised their hands, including Arthur Weasley, but not Molly Weasley. Remus wrote down the numbers, " Motion passed. Now, candidates."

Molly raised her hand, " I nominate Kingsley Shacklebolt."

Hagrid raised his, " Aye, I secon' that."

Arthur Weasley raised his hand, " I nominate Harry Potter."

There was an almost deathly silence at the table, as all the remaining members looked at Arthur like he was crazy. Severus Snape entered the room, fresh from his meeting with the Dark Lord, to notice the silence. He asked Remus in a small whisper, " What happened?"

" Arthur nominated Harry as the leader of the Order."

Snape nodded, and raised his hand, " I second that motion."

If the silence was heavy for Arthur, it was a lead weight for Snape. One, most of the Order couldn't believe that Snape was seconding the motion for Harry Potter as Leader of the Order. The others, mostly junior members, led by Neville Longbottom, spoke up, " You're just trying to get Harry killed."

Remus raised his hand, " I second the motion as well."

Hermione spoke up, " But someone who isn't a member of the order can't become the leader!"

Remus cut his cold eyes at Hermione, " He's done more for the order than anyone here except Snape. More than you'll ever do. If anything, he would accept the position just for the chance to one up you, if the rumors I've heard are true."

Silence hung heavy in the air as Arthur Weasley entered into a stare down with his wife. Suddenly, two stunners were fired, and both Arthur and Molly Weasley were levitated out of the room. Remus whispered, " We cannot allow such a charged atmosphere to cloud our judgment. All in favor of Harry James Potter as Leader of the Order?"

Remus counted the hands, " Eleven. All against?"

He again counted them, and said, " To Eight, with one abstainer. We declare Harry James Potter to be the Leader of the Order of the Phoenix. Those who do not agree can leave this organization and will be declared enemies of the Order. "

Snape sneered as the eight who had voted against Potter, including most of the Weasleys, left to go into the living room. They didn't want any part of this. Remus leaned over, " Why did you second the motion?"

" Because Potter is the only one who can lead us out of this mess. Because Potter is more like the Dark Lord than he knows, and that Potter is a man of action. He will not just sit around and let the Dark Lord take over the world. Now, Remus, your wife beckons you. Go and take care of her, and may the light always guide you."

Lupin looked a little surprised at Snape's rather civil salutation, but hustled out with Tonks. Snape noticed that Tonks was heavily pregnant, and would likely give birth in a couple of weeks at most. _At least Wolf has something to be happy about these dark days._

( Harry)

Harry approached the Fourth Place with apprehension. Luckily, there were no obstacles like the last time. The Arch way had the familiar All Seeing Eye symbol. This archway was green. He shouted, " Read the Lines that no one reads. They are written everywhere."

The archway flashed, and he was consumed by brilliant green light. He felt the power tugging at his eyes, that this time, the power gained would affect his vision. The power ripped his eyes open, and he starred into the blinding light. When it stopped, he had to blink to get used to normal lighting again. A fourth rune floated around his head. An All-Seeing Eye.

He noticed that he now saw magical auras around certain things that had magical properties, and that small runes were engraved on each. While he still couldn't understand the runes, he could now see them.

He began his trek back to the camp, heeding well the warning not to try and take two at once like last time. Though the fifth was actually closer to his campsite than the fourth Place of Power, he knew better than to actually go one after the other.

When he got back to the camp, he cast the usual detection and concealment charms to make sure no one was following him. He cracked open Dumbledore's locket, and was pleased to see the Headmaster waiting. " Harry. I have news for you. I take it you have found the fourth Place of Power?"

" Yes, Albus. Rune sight is now mine."

" Good, because the next will be the most important. Rune understanding. It will grant you the power to write your own runes, and will grant you a gift that you yourself will choose. I cannot tell you what it is, but let me just say that this is where I got Fawkes from."

Harry had always been intrigued at how Dumbledore had found Fawkes, considering that phoenixes were practically extinct. But no amount of prying would get the portrait to talk. So Harry sighed, but was woken up immediately by Dumbledore saying, " Harry, Severus wanted me to tell you that you are now the leader of the Order of the Phoenix."

Harry exclaimed, " What? Why would I want to be the leader of those fools?"

" Severus said your reaction would be something like that. He said, to think of yourself as the Dark Lord's counter, a Light Lord. More specifically, a Grey Lord. A lord with no followers is exactly that. Nothing. Try as I might, I was no light lord. I was a Dark Lord in my own right. "

" So I now command the Order?" Harry muttered, almost dazed. Dumbledore's portrait nodded, " Indeed you do, my boy. You can relay your orders with me, since for now, you cannot do so yourself."

" Good. Tell them that it is time to stop that laying around, passive defense bull shit. Time to go on the offensive. Anytime they can catch a couple of wandering DEs, a couple by themselves, anything, to attack and kill. No stunning. Kill."

Dumbledore nodded, left momentarily, and returned after about five minutes, " Severus said that he approves of your orders, and that he will relay them to Remus. Lupin has been most, wolfish lately. They say that it took three order members to keep him from attacking Ron and Hermione. Even more to keep him from attacking Molly."

Harry smiled, " Good. They should have let him."

" Still angry Harry?"

" Is there any doubt? I had DE trouble yesterday. One of the DEs must have been a girl who went to Hogwarts in one of my years, but she sounded a lot like Hermione. Let's just say that I earned some respect from Bella Lestrange when I shouted that I would kill them if they ever came back."

" Is that so? Curious,", Dumbledore seemed to muse for a moment, " Anyway, back on topic. You should go after that last Place tomorrow. Severus bids you good luck. He knows how much of a pain this pilgrimage is."

Harry was taken aback, " Snape's a Rune Reader?"

" Not a particularly powerful one, but yes. It is how he is such an accomplished Potion's Master. The runes allow him to find particularly rare ingredients, as well as measure out the absolute measurements needed for most of the extremely powerful potions. Most Potions Masters are in fact, Rune Readers. On the flip side, most Curse Breakers are not. Interesting isn't it? The profession you would think would have the most use for the ability has next to no Rune Readers, but the one you would think wouldn't have any at all has the highest density."

Harry noticed the irony. He wondered how much help being able to see and understand runes, able to craft your own to do specific tasks, and being able to trigger them without being remotely close to it would be to Curse Breakers. Harry frowned as Dumbledore disappeared. He closed the locket, took a look at Slytherin's locket, and then went to bed.

( Dark Lord)

" So, Severus, Potter is now the Leader of the Order of the Phoenix?"

Snape nodded, sometimes really hating his job. The Dark Lord laughed softly, " So our young Dark Lord is finally getting some followers. Won't be long now before the war between Dark Lords erupts. The world will fall to pieces as it wants Potter to defeat me, but I see it in his eyes. Potter would do far worse and terrible things than I if he corrupts."

Snape knew this in his mind as well. Harry Potter was the wild card of the whole war. He always had been. Snape was a power legilimens, and for someone that claimed to know so much, Granger knew nothing on how to defend herself from a Legilimency attack. He had seen the absolute terror that was in the girl, and almost felt sorry for her. But as he, the Dark Lord, Dumbledore, and Potter all said, she deserved it.

" I wonder….Does Potter have the power to do what I cannot?"

Snape hissed, " I know not what you speak of, milord. There is nothing you cannot do."

Voldemort hissed, " I don't need blind sycophants here, Severus. I know full well my limitations. Horcruxes or no, one day, this body will run out of magic, and I will die of old age. That may be twenty years from now, or it may be tomorrow. I would hope that Potter has a chance of becoming the True Master of Death. That he may succeed where I have failed, and attain true immortality."

It was strange to hear the Dark Lord talk almost lovingly of his sworn enemy, Harry Potter. Like he hoped that Potter would defeat him, if only so that Potter would take up the banner himself. Snape shuddered to think what Harry would be like if the Dark Lord truly held him in high esteem.

" Potter became a man three days ago, Severus. Not in the way that most men think, but in a way that all of us can respect. He killed not once, but twice, without remorse. It took me a couple of years to get that far myself, so I am impressed. He almost killed Lucius, not saying that helps us any, but that says something. He must want Lucius to suffer. To atone for the evils that his late son inflicted upon him."

Snape listened to the Dark Lord's monologue in almost awe. He had never heard the Dark Lord speak of anyone or anything like this. Not even his own ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, of which Severus himself was extremely distantly descended from. So far along that only devoted Purebloods like Lucius Malfoy would find it. He and the Dark Lord were like twentieth cousins or something like that. It made for a very interesting conversation when they found out.

But after his little speech about Potter, he went back to the boring and tedious work of planning on how to exterminate the Order, take over the world, etc.

( Harry)

The trek had been long and hard, but Harry finally stood before the final Place of Power. It looked significantly different than the others. It was a small, ruined castle, like a fort from when the Saxons had fought the Normans.

He swung the rusty gate open, wand in hand, and blade extended. A creature stood before him. It looked like a Dementor, but he knew it wasn't because he wasn't filled with the cold, dread feeling. The creature spoke, " I am the force of nature that has brought you here to this most sacred location, Harry James Potter. For thousands of years, I have existed, since the dawn of man. I have known many names, but the one you would know me best as is Fawkes."

The creature let out a reassuring shrill, cry. It heartened him, but why was Fawkes like this if he was a phoenix? The creature answered, " I am not a phoenix. I never was. Dumbledore was but a young man, fresh off of getting his heart broken by his only friend, Gellert Grindelwald, and by the death of his sister. He was a grief stricken man, filled with anger and sorrow, and he needed companionship. I am, in fact, a female. But knowing Dumbledore the way I have gotten to know him, I took a form that allowed him to be more at ease around me."

Harry muttered, " Dumbledore was gay…."

" Yes. Like many, he was most uncomfortable with his sexuality, and didn't reveal it to anyone other than Grindelwald, who was not of the same inklings. But enough about Dumbledore, more about you. I sense the hate in you. The anger. There was once sorrow, but now there is only hate and anger. I can help you break away from the hate and the anger. You can never forgive them, forgiveness is weakness. But you can lose the hate."

Harry was conflicted, " The anger gives me power. I can use spells I never dreamed of before, but only in the grip of rage."

" Anger is different from hate, Harry. Anger is the righteous fuel, but hate is the darkness. Any emotion can be used to draw upon power. Fear, happiness, anger, hate, all of it. Use your emotions as power, and you cannot be stopped. Have you discovered the name for this branch of magic that all wizards use, but only a select few know the name of?"

A word swam to the top of his head_ Soulfire._ He blurted out, " Soulfire?"

" Yes. All wizards use Soulfire, but only a few know what it is called. Soulfire is the use of emotions to empower spells. Everyone can use anger, but only a few can use others. The Patronus Charm for example, is the ultimate form of a magic sprouted entirely from happiness. Now, Reader of the Runes, come forth and press thy hand upon this door."

Harry walked forward, and pressed his hand upon the door that the force of nature showed him. The door turned a blazing green, and disappeared. Inside was a room with three pedestals. Fawkes explained, " These nine pedestals, organized into three groups, represent your rewards for completing the quest. One wand for each, one ring, and a set of artifacts. Choose wisely, for you will not be able to change your mind."

Harry saw the emblem of power, and looked upon it. A cloak with a flamboyant symbol on it, like Lockhart. Harry was instantly repulsed by the draw. He turned to love instead. A mirror like the Mirror of Erised, save that it could make what he saw come real. A cloak that would make all women see him as handsome. He knew what Sirius would have chosen, but this was not his path. His eyes fell upon the Path of Wisdom.

A wand made of a golden wood, wood from the tree of life. Five books were stacked upon the pedestal. A ring engraved with an infinity symbol. Finally, a set of wizard's armor. The armor was silvery green, and looked like it was made of basilisk hide. Harry took the books, ring, wand, and armor. He put the armor on and felt the barriers around him strengthen. He put on the ring, and felt his vision and hearing sharpen. Gold sparks fired from the wand. He read the covers of the books, "_The Book of Life, The Book of Death, The Book of Destruction, The Book of Conjuration, and The Book of Change"_

Fawkes hissed out, " You have chosen well, Reader of the Runes. Enjoy your powers, live your life to the fullest. I will always be there to help you. You need only call my name, and I will appear in a form you wish."

" A Phoenix would be nice."

" It will be done."

The creature turned into the phoenix Harry was so used to seeing with Dumbledore. He turned and walked out of the castle. It dissipated into the darkness.

Later, Harry showed the books to Dumbledore. He was impressed, " You chose the path of wisdom? Excellent Harry. The other two were traps. Me and Severus found this out the hard way."

" Let me guess, you both chose love?"

Dumbledore looked remorseful, " I'm sorry Harry, but you are correct. Severus will have to tell you the story himself, but mine is well known. Plus Fawkes can tell you."

" Anyway, so what is this ritual?"

A/N: Latin time!

Latin Time:

1 Spiritu Vocem: Sound Blast

2 Hasta Lucis: Spear of Light


	4. Chapter 3 Suicide VS Martyrdom

Chapter 3 The Only Difference between Martyrdom and Suicide is…

A word on Travel: Just as a precaution, I'm not a big fan of long chapters talking about people running through forests. I got an Anonymous Reviewer who heavily criticized me for not writing those scenes in, instead just filling in the gaps with other character POVs and scene changes. As a reader's preference, I personally would prefer to know what's going on somewhere else rather than watch a guy walk through a forest. I mean, this isn't Golden Sun or Pokemon, so Harry isn't going to get the message " Wild Death Eater Appears!" while walking in the woods.

Harry grunted as he extracted his own blood with syringe end of the calligraphic rune pen. It hurt more than Dumbledore said it would. A LOT more. He watched as his own blood dripped from the pen, before flipping through the book, Rune Reader.

Rune Reader basically a starter's guide to crafting your own runes. But it was also a good translating tool for runes that most people don't know. Although Rune Readers can understand runes, they can't always write them without knowing what they mean.

Dumbledore guided Harry, " Now, you can write runes on any surface. If they are written in blood, they will hold their power, no matter the medium used. Certain types of elemental runes can be made using the wand. For example, one can use a modified version of the Flamethrower curse to craft runes in the air of fire. But those elemental runes can only be used for certain purposes."

Harry nodded, and put the calligraphy pen on a piece of parchment. The book was much larger after you became a Reader, as it contained nearly every known type of rune. He decided to write one using the Japanese runes, better known as Kanji. He wrote _fire blast_ on the parchment, and walked outside. He wrote a triggering rune on his finger, and threw the parchment on the ground next to a stack of wood he had prepared specially for this purpose. He pressed the trigger rune, and waited.

Instantaneously, a large blast of fire burst forth in a miniature mushroom cloud, lighting the wet wood on fire, and it was burning quite hotly. He smiled as he thought of the many ways this could be used. Traps in particular.

Dumbledore called to him, " Harry! Since you are now a Rune Reader, I can call Severus, and tell him to go to you and help you with the ritual. The ritual is a two man operation, so it is imperative that he help you."

Harry didn't like the idea, but supposed that he was stuck with it. Dumbledore continued, " Severus says that he's bringing a little company. Female company."

" It better not be Hermione. If it is, I'll kill her right in front of his face. I'm not afraid to do it Dumbledore."

Dumbledore chuckled, " Rest assured, Severus said that the two girls are from your year, but not your house. So, maybe things will be a little better for you?"

Harry frowned as Dumbledore left to tell Snape to get ready. Who were these two girls? _Oh well, as long as it isn't those two, I don't care. Better get back to those runes._ Harry spent the next hour using combinations of runes to silence explosions.

( Spinner's End)

Snape hustled quickly into the house, announcing his presence, and shouting, " Tracey! Daphne! Get down here now!"

Daphne came down first, her normally sleek and shiny blonde hair in tangles, " What are you doing here at eight in the morning?"

Snape scowled, " If you were still at Hogwarts, it wouldn't be so hard on you."

" If we were still at Hogwarts, we may as well be dead."

Unfortunately, Severus agreed. The Carrows had taken over two positions at Hogwarts, and they loved to give detentions. Those detentions involved torture, and some students, mostly muggle-born, had gone 'missing' after detentions with them. Purebloods who supported Potter, or were neutral, were known to disappear as well. Snape shuddered a little.

" Get ready you two. We're going to go meet Potter today. I've heard he's been pretty moody, but in a very different way than he used to be. Be careful. Especially you Daphne, I am your Godfather, and I wouldn't want your father's trust in me to go to waste because of Potter."

Tracy laughed, " I agree with Severus. Wouldn't want Potter blowing your head off because he thinks you're Granger like he tried to do with Lestrange."

Daphne scowled, " I would be more worried about you, Tracy, than me. Your hair is straight, and darker, but if he could confuse Lestrange for Granger, then I shudder to think what he would do to someone who actually looks anything close to her."

Snape finished gathering some potions, and his own Rune Reader and Calligraphy pen, shouting, " Come on girls! We have a meeting in the Forest of Dean."

( Harry)

Alarms went off as he heard three small pops outside of his tent, and Snape muttering, " Dumbledore said the tent was right here. No way the boy could cast a Fidelus on his own tent, by himself, and I don't think he would have the patience to do it either."

Harry burst out of the tent, " Concealment Runes. Can't have an encounter like the one I had with Bella again now can I?"

He gestured at the two girls, " Who are these two? I kind of recognize them, but not really."

Snape cut off a hasty remark from Daphne, " This is Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis. You probably recognize them from being Slytherins in your year. There is a background story to me taking them in, so…"

The blonde said in a cheerful voice, " I'm Daphne, and yes, there are people in Slytherin other than Malfoy and his cronies. "

Harry shrugged, " I do kind of remember you now. Ice Queen right?"

Daphne giggled, " He remembers! So clever for a Gryffindor!"

Harry hissed, " Hey, if it hadn't been for Hagrid and Weasley telling me only dark wizards came from Slytherin, I would have been one, so. …"

Snape cut in, " Yes….I recall having that conversation with Albus. He was pleased that his little plan for you to end up in Gryffindor worked, but he wasn't pleased about how your talents were being squandered by the end of the year. He was considering changing you to Slytherin, but by then, you had made enemies with Draco, and your life would have been complete misery if he had. More than it already is, I should say."

Harry nodded, " The Hat stands by what he said. I could have been great in Slytherin, but I ended up in Gryffindor instead."

Snape suddenly spoke up, " Alright, enough of the chit-chat! We have business to attend to. Where is Slytherin's Locket?"

Harry pulled the locket off, " Right here. Ever since I got rid of those fools, the effects of wearing it are gone. Like I'm immune to it now."

Snape sneered, " Interesting, but only someone like you would do that. By the way, don't say the Dark Lord's name. It's been Tabooed. It wouldn't do for DEs to show up in the middle of the ritual."

Harry laughed, " I know! The Dark Lord knew about Dumbledore's whole ' Fear of the name only increases the fear of the object' speech and was trying to capitalize on both mine and his efforts to convince people not to use the epithets. Amazing what you can learn when you have a Portrait of one of the most prestigious liars in the universe, and he can't lie because he's dead."

Snape shrugged, " I can see how that can be useful."

Harry saw Snape pull out his copy of Rune Reader, and just like the Half-Blood Prince's book ( considering they were the same person), it had hundreds of little annotations written in it. Snape pulled out a pamphlet of papers, laid them out, and order Harry, Daphne, and Tracy to memorize it. Snape got his Calligraphy pen, and began to draw runes akin to the ones Harry had seen in the back of the book, in a section called Fictional Runes.

Harry saw Snape inscribing the runes for Truth, Revelation, Seeking, and Purging. He was making about the first of what Harry knew was going to be seven circles. One for each of the Horcruxes, even the ones that were already destroyed.

Harry heard Snape order him to start writing the circles for destruction. It was painstaking, labor intensive, and mind consuming. Each symbol, especially the ones that he had to combine to make work, had to be drawn exactly right. Not exactly the way a novice would want to start their career is it? A ritual that might kill you if the symbol for destruction ( the planetary symbol of Saturn) was slightly more curvy than it should be, in one of hundreds of repetitions.

Snape took back over after Harry had finished the fourteenth circle of Destruction. He was writing the Runes for Restoration. The ritual was to be two-fold. All the horcruxes would be destroyed, but all the soul pieces would be returned to Voldemort. In the process, his humanity would be restored, as well as his original body. That was the downside. The upside was that Harry didn't have to be a martyr for a cause he really didn't want any part of. The Greater Good no longer held much taste in his mouth. His Own Good tasted much better.

Snape motioned for Harry to place the Locket in the center of the Circles. Harry walked over, careful not to touch any of the now glowing runes of drying blood. Harry drew the connection star in the middle to connect each circle to the Locket. This part was extremely delicate, because Harry couldn't disturb the circles by walking on them or touching them.

He was beginning to sweat as he drew the twentieth connector. He was sweating profusely by the time he finished the twenty first. Snape took over, beginning to wire the circles together into the same trigger. This process alone took an entire hour.

Harry frowned as he helped Snape finish the last trigger, which they then drew on a piece of charred wood from one of Harry's earlier experimentations. Snape said, " Harry. I think you should be the one to trigger the circles."

Harry noticed that this was the first time he had ever heard Snape say his first name, and not immediately following it with his last name. Harry drew the last rune, and pressed it with the golden wand.

The first sign it was working was the gathering of clouds above them. A dry thunderstorm. Thunder boomed in the distance as the winds began to pick up.

The winds blew forcefully, sweeping the leaves and grass up into a mini-tornado around them. All around Britain, these winds were blowing. They were the portents of coming disaster. A more fitting name, was the Winds of Fate.

The Lightning came. It wasn't purple like normal lightning. It was blood red. It struck at the circles haphazardly, but did not damage to them. A howling came with the next gust of wind. Harry saw a small cloud of black enter the Locket of Slytherin. Then another, and another. Two more came after that, when Harry fell to the ground, clenching his scar in pain.

His entire life flashed before his eyes. Every memory, from his earliest, to his most recent. He saw his parents die again. He saw Sirius falling through the Arch. He saw Ron and Hermione turning on him. His anger erupted, forcing a cloud of black smoke out of his scar. Then, there was silence.

The Locket seemed to draw in energy, before exploding spectacularly. The wisps of smoke gathered into a large clump, and disappeared. Harry was gasping for air. Dumbledore said it would be a painful experience, but not this damn painful! What part of he didn't want to relive some of those memories doesn't anyone seem to understand damn it?

Snape pulled out a potion, forced him to drink it, and he immediately felt better. Snape cursed, " Damn, Potter! I didn't think it would be that bad."

" Me either, Snape."

Snape clenched his left arm, cursing again, " Fuck, the Dark Lord must already have felt the after effects of the ritual. Read this, memorize it, and then Apparate with Daphne and Tracey to it,", he instructed, handing Harry a small slip of paper. It said, "Severus Snape's safehouse can be found at 13 Spinner's End."

The place began to take formation in Harry's mind. He shrunk the tent, put it in his pocket, and shouted at Daphne, " Greengrass! Get Davis, and come over here! We're getting out of this place!"

Harry roughly grabbed them just in time for them to Disapparate. They appeared outside of a small, but certainly livable house in a small town Muggle backwater burg. He exhaustedly twisted the handle, stalked in, held the door for the two girls, and closed the door. He felt the wards reform, and that the house was once again completely hidden to anyone. He passed out on the couch in the living room.

( The Dark Lord)

Voldemort was looking at his body. Suddenly, he no longer had the snake like aperture that his conjured body was. Instead, he looked like his twenty-five year old self from before he made the Hufflepuff Horcrux. He summoned his DEs, and the effect was noticeable. Loyal Bellatrix even attacked him. He was inclined to let the infraction slide, because most of them hadn't heard of him when he made that Horcrux.

Snape commented, " You look smashing, milord."

Voldemort answered, " Why thank you Severus. I've been parading around in that monstrosity of a body for so long, I forgot what it was like to look good."

Narcissa muttered nervously, causing Lucius to cut a glare at the beautiful woman. Voldemort laughed, " It is ok, Narcissa. Many of the females I went to school with were of the same opinion you are. Lucius, if I could borrow your wife tonight, would you mind?"

Lucius did indeed mind, but he knew better than to deny his lord anything, even his own wife. Voldemort smiled, " Good. I feel like a teen again, as much as I loathe to say it."

Snape heard that, and thought, _Doesn't sound like he loathes it. Sounds like he can't wait to have a go at a woman I would chop my nuts off to have a chance with. _But he kept that thought to himself, instead asking if that was all. Voldemort answered, " Yes. I think it is."

Just before he Apparated out, Snape heard the Dark Lord mutter to Narcissa, " Tonight, you can call me Tom."

( Harry)

Harry instantly woke up to the sound of the wards, and had both his wands out, ready to attack, when Snape came walking in. Snape shouted, " I'm back!"

" I know, you greasy bat. What happened?"

Snape frowned, " Call me Severus while we are here, and I'll call you Harry, though I much prefer Potter."

" Alright Severus. What happened?"

" Well, looks like Dumbledore was right. The Dark Lord now has the body of a twenty five year old Tom Riddle. I think Narcissa Malfoy is finding out right now just how handsome Tom was back then,", Snape commented. Harry knew what he was talking about. The memories had shown him, and Tom was indeed a man blessed by good looks, better than Sirius had been.

Severus broke his thoughts, " Remus wants to see you. Something about becoming the new leader of the Order."

Harry sighed, " Great. Like I really wanted to lead the order of the Grilled Chicken."

Severus laughed, " That assessment is correct, though some of the vengeful members were particularly pleased with your edicts. "

Harry chuckled. Of course they were! Dumbledore had them doing absolutely nothing while people were being killed. Snape pulled out a bone white wand, " Potter. This is called the Elder wand. Are you familiar with its origins?"

" The Three Brothers Peverell? From Beedle's tales? Death forged a wand out of a stick of wood in the River Styx?"

" Sounds about right. Well, Dumbledore intended for it to either die with me, or for you to have it. He recently came to the conclusion that it would be best that you have it, since your Invisibility Cloak is one of the Hallows as well. That ring that cursed Dumbledore is one. Give me that Snitch Dumbledore gave you,", Severus demanded.

Harry pulled it out of his pocket, along with the instructions, " _I open at the fall._"

Severus sneered, " How cunning. Dumbledore really thought that someone couldn't get this open before?"

" Well, at first, I didn't even know that they could store things. But then, me and the other two tried all that we could to open it, but it wouldn't."

Snape laughed, " Well, we are Rune Readers, and we both know Runes for opening. Give it a try, do you see anything around the snitch?"

Harry looked closely, and noticed a small locking rune, and a small time rune that was keyed to his sense of desperation rotating around it. Harry pulled out his pen, and wrote two breaking runes. The first destroyed the locking rune, and the second disabled the time rune. The snitch cracked open.

In his palm, was the Resurrection Stone, split completely in half. Harry pulled his cloak out, and saw it begin to shimmer when placed next to the stone. It began to turn black when Snape placed the Elder Wand next to it. The Resurrection Stone began to mend together as well. Snape commented, " Well, this is interesting. All three Hallows in this room together. Well, Harry. Dumbledore intended for you to become the Master of Death. To do so, you would have to best me in a duel. I won't hold back."

Harry laughed, " Well, I'm going to hold off on that for a little while. I don't think I'm good enough to take you down yet."

A tinkling voice laughed from the stairs, and they both turned to see Daphne and Tracy watching them. Tracy yelled, " You can take him Potter! We know you can."

Snape joked, " I'm sure he could. His mother could take me, I can tell you that."

Daphne quipped, " I'm sure she could."

Harry was lost, " What?"

Severus turned back, " I will show you the memories later, but for now, we need to get to Grimmauld Place. Remus and the others who remain will be waiting for us."

" So I go from martyrdom to suicide?"

Snape smiled, " I don't think there's much of a difference do you? Other than press coverage that is."

" I totally agree. The only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage."

A/N: Alright, up next is Harry's first confrontation with his old friends, and he finally takes up the mantle as leader of the Light.


	5. Chapter 4 Communion of Souls

Chapter 4 Communion of Souls

A/N: Well, after getting a bunch of reviews telling me I was going a little extreme, I pulled the plug on the fiction, and disposed of those two newest chapter, for those wondering why they had two new alerts, and there isn't a new chapter.

Snape and Harry left Spinner's End the next day with Daphne and Tracey in tow. Snape muttered, " Assholes trying to change the locations of the Meetings. I mean, they didn't even tell me they wanted to change from Black's place."

Harry snorted, "I don't know why they would want to change. They didn't even have a leader until Arthur Weasley grew a pair and nominated me for the job."

Snape chuckled, " That is odd. I wonder why Arthur is suddenly so independent? I mean, I was pretty sure Molly was wearing the pants in that relationship."

" If by pants, you mean she has both the penis and pussy."

" Quiet back there Tracey!"

Harry snickered, and reflected on how he was feeling himself. He felt much better now than he had in quite awhile. Confidence flowed in his veins. Unfortunately, the meeting had been postponed because "Certain Key Individuals" couldn't make it. Harry went to bed that night feeling lousy. But Harry didn't know exactly what was going on that might end up changing his prospects. ….

0-99-897-43456-4-3-4-2

( Outside of This World)

Somewhere out in space, somewhere in the firmament, there is a place where the spirits of the dead go when they have confrontations. No living man knows the name of this place, and most of the dead don't either, for it is said that dead men tell no tales. But in the rare case that such a dead man tells a tale, this is what the area is for.

A grey spirit stood in the middle of a crowd of mostly white spirits, though there were some black spirits standing at attention. A giant sat at a judge man's podium, and was trying to get the spirits in order. The accusers, made primarily of white spirits, were almost at blows with the grey spirit and his small cadre of black spirit supporters. Had Harry Potter been there, he would have recognized all the white spirits as his dead family and one of the black spirits as Dumbledore.

He would not have recognized the grey spirit, nor most of the black spirits that supported the grey. The grey spirit was considerably older than the whites, but this was a timeless place. His face was handsome, but it had certain dark qualities about it, and his facial hair made him look somewhat like a monkey. The grey spirit was the soul of Salazar Slytherin.

The woman at the head of the white spirits was remarkable for the fact that even in this white place, her hair had a tinge of red. Her eyes were sparkling emeralds. This was the soul of Lily Potter.

The man at the head of the white spirits was basically a clone of Harry Potter in almost all ways save for his eyes. Naturally, this was the soul of James Potter. Standing next to him was black spirit, whose beard and hair had been silvery enough in life to be white in the afterlife. Of course, this was Albus Dumbledore.

The black spirit standing next to Salazar Slytherin was a handsome man in life, and his passing had been mourned by many. This was Sirius Black. All of these spirits led comparable sets and forces of their own. James Potter was furious, " Who does this man think he is for communing with my son?"

Slytherin hissed, " A man who is thinking with the life of the world at heart. That's right, the Greater Good."

Lily cried, " But Slytherin! It is against the code to commune with the living unless absolutely necessary or the person possess the Resurrection Stone!"

Slytherin refuted her, " Need I remind you that Harry Potter does indeed possess the Resurrection stone?"

" All the same! This is my son we are talking about! He deserves to live his life as he chooses!"

Slytherin sneered, reminiscing of Snape, " Like being raised by two heathens who deserve the deepest circle of Hell is how he chose? Like being locked in a cupboard for eleven years? Like having his best friend leave him in his worst moments? Like having the woman he loved turn him down for this best friend? Like getting shit on by Lord Voldemort every year of his life? I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound like a life I would choose."

Dumbledore sighed, " As I have said before, it is all for the greater good."

" Who's greater good? Yours? Dumbledore, I am older and wiser than you by hundreds of years. Our world needed a Savior! Not a fucking pawn for others to profit off of!" Slytherin shouted in rage. Lily Potter perked back up, " Need we remind you that it YOUR descendent who is the entire reason behind this?"

" Yet it can all be traced back to Dumbledore! I made the Roster myself, Dumbledore. Surely you knew that Riddle was going to be powerful! Surely you knew that if Riddle didn't have the guidance that he needed he was going to be Lord darker than any we've ever seen? "

Dumbledore sighed, " As I have said before, I recognize my mistakes with Riddle. I knew Harry was every bit as powerful, if not more powerful than Tom. So I sealed the power away. He cannot become a Grey Lord, because it will destroy the world."

" Dumbledore! Have you no shame man? Magic has ways of balancing the tides of war. If Harry didn't become a Grey Lord, than Magic would create another to make up for it. If Potter dies because of your folly, then the world will create another Dark Lord worse than even Voldemort!"

James said hesitantly, " You said didn't. Does that mean?"

Slytherin nodded, and Lily howled. Slytherin laughed cruelly, " Harry Potter is the one who has been chosen by the world itself to defeat Tom Riddle. If he should, then he will rule. If he should not, then this world is doomed. The Lay of Time clearly shows the Prophetic Links to a given time. If the Dark Lord Shall muster his forces, then Lord Grey shall arise to fight him. If Lord Grey shall win, then he shall rule the world as he wishes. If Dark Lord shall win, then he shall rule the world as he chooses."

James shouted, " How dare you thrust this upon my son?"

Slytherin's face contorted in rage, " Your son? YOUR SON? He may as well be Tom Riddle's son for all the help and sanctity any of you have given him! Already their paths in life have been hopelessly connected and similar. Harry James Potter is more my heir and son than he is Gryffindor's and you know this."

Godric Gryffindor stood beside his heir, face alight with anger at his arch-rival, even in death. Slytherin coldly starred down the giant of a man, both men with looks of hatred for the other dancing across their faces. The Creator shouted, " Calm down people, there isn't anything you can do about this. What's done is done. Salazar, I commend you for your forward thinking. While I doubt that you did it for pity, I believe that you have done the right thing."

A cold voice that struck the hearts of all the souls, " Not so fast."

A man wearing full black armor, and carrying a staff with the Sigil of Sight engraved upon the head, walked into the Room of Conflicts. His golden eyes shone eerily through his helm, striking fear into the hearts of those already dead. The Creator hissed, " Watcher, you have no business here."

" Au contraire, Creator, I have every right to be here. I am the Watcher of the Worlds, the Watcher of the Cosmos. It is my job to protect the other worlds, and the Cosmos from itself. I have every right to know if this conflict is something I need to step in on."

The Watcher was a peculiar individual, a living being who had power over the dead. They said he was more powerful than the Creator, and that he had already defeated him once, and this was why he was tolerated. The Watcher possessed powers the likes of which the dead had never even heard of. The Living know not of him. Only the Centaurs know anything of him at all. They call him " The Great Protector" saying that he protected them from even the Creator.

Slytherin hissed, " Watcher, what is it that you want to know?"

The Watcher turned his fiery gaze upon the grey spirit, " I want to know if I can count on Potter to come to my aide if I should ever require it. Sorry Salazar, but your world has not been pulling its weight since the time when Merlin left to journey the stars with me. I need warriors now more than ever."

" I assure you, Watcher, than in your time of need, Harry James Potter will respond. If he has to bring his people up by the ears, the one thing that he cannot do is sit back and let the others fight. He has fire unlike any I have seen in years."

The golden light lessened, " Then I rule in favor of Salazar Slytherin. Harry James Potter is to have his powers. I will give him some of my own as well. He will find them to be most useful against Tom Riddle. Be wary, Magic is a fickle creature, and will no doubt create something to balance out this imbalance of Power."

Dumbledore watched with anger in his heart as the Watcher, the Creator, and Salazar Slytherin performed the Unbinding Ritual, and made Harry Potter the force he needed to be to fight Tom Riddle. Harry was likely asleep. He would wake up the next day feeling better than he had in his entire life. Dumbledore only hoped that Harry wouldn't abuse the privilege he had been given.

Slytherin turned to Dumbledore, " How does it feel to have everything you've planned be destroyed by someone who's been dead for over nine centuries?"

" Aggravating to say the least. You failed your Great Task. It is not your place to interfere with others."

Salazar smoothly turned the statement on Dumbledore, " If you had your way, his Great Task would have been a greater failure than mine. I don't think I need to remind people exactly why I failed my task."

Godric Gryffindor paled considerably at that statement. For her actions, Rowena Ravenclaw burned in Hell. Salazar smiled evilly, " Yes, remember the pain you condemned the world by allowing yourself to be manipulated by that whore. I guess being gullible runs in your line, Godric, because your descendents didn't fare much better."

With that, Salazar glared at the two Potters. Salazar celebrated his victory in the afterlife. After all, it was one step towards the Great Victory.

--

( Next Day)

Harry woke up the next day, and he felt better than he had ever felt before in his life. He stretched, and threw on his best robes. He was practically skipping, something Tracey noted, " Good morning Potter. Did you have a particularly good morning rubbing?"

Harry ignored the jibe, " Nope, I just feel good today for some reason. Like the weight of the world is gone. And I feel more powerful too."

Daphne laughed, " Don't let it go to your head Potter, because you have to deal with those loathsome friends of yours today."

Harry scowled, " Don't ruin the feeling."

Tracey giggled, " We'll see how long the new Harry lasts in the face of his old friends. "

Snape came in with a yawn, " I agree with Tracey. Potter, I know your devotion stands the test of time, but this is the one time you absolutely cannot afford to forgive."

Harry bristled at this continued bashing of his trust issues, " Damn it! I know the consequences of these actions, and I cannot allow them to rule me! But I need followers just like any other Lord or leader. I cannot just march into the Ministry and fight the Dark Lord can I?"

Snape raised a curious eyebrow, but stuck with a, " I see."

Harry scowled at him, but didn't say anything as he continued his breakfast.

09876567890-032)))))))))))))(((((((((((()))))()()()()

( Grimmauld Place)

The Order waited with baited breath for Potter and Snape to show up. Snape had told them in the last night's Unofficial Meeting that he had found Harry trudging around in the Forest of Dean, but seemed to be in extremely good spirits for someone who's friends had run out on him.

Ron and Hermione had bristled when Snape had said this with his ever present mocking sneer, but they were pleasantly reminded that even though Harry had decided to run them off himself, they had already made the decision to leave before he had.

Remus Lupin was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Harry, though he had many reasons to hope he would hurry up. One was that Tonks was now on a Day to Day timetable for delivery, and the other was that he was getting really tired of the conflicts that had erupted among the Order without proper leadership.

This drove Remus to the deep end of the pool. Just because Dumbledore and Moody were dead didn't mean the world was ending! If they didn't fight, then the war was lost and there was no way of fixing it! Remus' grim thoughts were driven away as the door swung open.

In walked Severus Snape with his typical arrogant, batty looking self, cloak billowing behind him. Harry was walking behind him. Harry looked a bit different, he looked more fit, and better able to live than he had when Remus had last seen him. His eyes burned more intense than ever. Two girls, both very pretty compared to most Hogwarts students, walked beside Harry. Remus remembered that the blonde one was Daphne Greengrass, and the one with the dark brown hair was Tracey Davis.

Ron Weasley engaged his terminal Foot-In-The-Mouth disease first, " Potter? Hanging around with Death Eaters now? Have you no shame?"

Harry replied, " Speaking of people with no shame, look who's talking."

Ron flushed red, but Harry roughly pushed him out of the way, and walked into the Living Room. He shouted, " We have bigger and better things to be worried about right now than pathetic red haired ginger fools. So, I'm the leader of the Order?"

Lupin hesitated, " Well, yes."

Lupin was unsure how Harry would react, because Harry generally didn't react well with being placed into a leadership/spotlight positions without being told about it. Even then, he generally pissed a bitch. But this was a much different Harry Potter, as Remus found out, " Good, we have business to attend to. Weasley! If you want to regain some of that shame, and finally make a name for your good for nothing self, then you listen well."

Harry had everyone's attention now, " We can't afford to sit back and let the Dark Lord take the joint over! Period! That was Dumbledore's mistake, and look what happened to him. He's dead, and Darkie's got the place on lockdown. So we need to play his game to win. We need recruits. More importantly, we need to get the word out.

We need to get the word out that people are still fighting. We cannot allow them to fool the world into thinking that all hope is gone. I already have a mission planned out, but it is daring, and I hope we can get this done."

Most in the room, except Severus, Daphne, and Tracey, were rather surprised by Harry's command over the situation. Even those who had opposed him, like the older members, were being drawn into him. Harry leaned back on the couch, like he was completely at ease sitting there, " We need to commandeer the WWW. If we can get the word out, then we can get recruits. I will only send the rest of you out on more specialized missions. So we need to get planning."

Remus said, " Well, I will volunteer."

" No. Sorry Moony, but Tonks is about to go into labor any day now, and if there is one thing I will make sure I don't take from you, I will NOT allow you to miss the birth of your son."

Remus was pretty relieved, but was a tad surprised at Harry's refusal. Snape stood up, " Well, this has been nice, but I need to get back to Hogwarts. Fillius is getting tired of filling in for me."

Everyone watched as the bat left. Harry chuckled, " Well, I need to get to bed, so see you guys later."

It wasn't that late, only seven in the afternoon, but Harry had taken to going to bed earlier and earlier . He found that waking up at five in the morning was more enjoyable than the traditional ten. He ran into Hermione, literally. She started to say something, probably to beg forgiveness, but Harry headed her off at the pass, " Save your breathe for sucking Ron's dick. It cares a lot more than I do."

He left her with a hurt expression, but like he said, he didn't care. He saw Tracey next, and she was smiling for some reason. She asked, " Going to bed early Harry?"

" Yeah, why?"

" Let me join you."

Harry stuttered out, " W-W-W-What?"

" It'll definitely shut the beaver in there up. Same with ginger git."

Harry felt his teenager taking over, so he muttered, " Sure, what about Daphne?"

" She's getting something to eat. She'll join us in an hour or so."

" Good. I need to relieve a little stress. Just being around all those people seems to upset my magic and cause it to attack me. I don't know why either! This only just happened!"

Tracey laughed, it sounded like a bell, " Don't worry about it."

Somewhere out in Space, the Soul of Sirius Black was high-fiving the Soul of Salazar Slytherin as he saw his godson get into bed with two very attractive witches….

A/N: Well, the next chapter should be up in a couple of days. Again, this is a completely retooled chapter, and much shorter, than the original chapter.


	6. Chapter 5 Frontlines

Chapter 5 The Frontlines

A/N: A new update after a long delay.

Harry the asshole: I think I had an author's note in the first chapter about this, but people are welcome to continue to comment on it if they wish. .

" Alright, Arthur and Kingsley are going to be leading the infiltration team. I'll lead the shock team that will be attacking head on. We will be the distraction for you. Got it?"

Kingsley asked, " What is the objective?"

" We don't have the numbers to hold the building in the event of a siege, so we will need to get, send the message, and get out. We need to divide our forces into such a way that we can get the maximum effect out of our attacks. So, that means Fleur with me, and Bill with Arthur. The more veteran Curse breaker should go with the infiltration team. I want Ron, Granger, Ginny, Vance, and Henson with me. We're going in by the front door."

The teams nodded as Harry gave out the assignments. He pulled out about twenty little rings, " These are Invisibility Rings. I crafted them myself, and they only have enough charge for this mission. The Infiltration team will wear these, and the Cloaks of Silence that I give them as well."

Hermione muttered, " Wow Harry, these are amazing. Where did you learn how to do this?"

Harry ignored her, and pulled out ten bracers, " These bracers will shield you from most types of attacks, naturally, not the Killing Curse. That's my job. I know of a special shield that will block Killing Curses."

The crowd gasped, but Harry pressed on, " The objective is to capture Rebastian Lestrange. I don't know who's shoes he pissed on, but he's the Propaganda director for the Dark Lord now. I want him. I will handle his interrogation. Be warned, do not give him advance notice of your presence once you get to him. Stun him, body bind him, Silence him. Do not let him activate an emergency Port Key."

Kingsley nodded. Harry shouted, " Now, are we ready to rock?"

( The Front)

Harry led the assault team made primarily of his old friends almost up to the doors of the WWW, before pulling a small tactical retreat. He mused, " Why aren't they attacking us?"

Ron said, " Don't know, maybe they are expecting us to act as a distraction?"

Harry would loved to have ignored Ron's comment, but in all odds, it was likely the truth. Harry muttered, " Still, I show up. That should immediately mean that this is serious to the DEs."

His communication device buzzed, " _Harry. We can't get in. You need to do something to get their attention."_

_ " Copy that Chrome. On my way."_

Harry turned to the group, " Well, looks like we need to show them we mean business."

Harry asked, " Hermione? You ready to act for the greater good?"

" Always!" She seemed delighted that Harry would ask something of her.

Harry smiled, " Good."

( DEs)

James Rhodes was a low ranking Death Eater who joined to save his family, only to have his daughter raped and murdered in his face right afterward. They called it his Joining Fee. He was a bitter Death Eater who eagerly wanted to turn sides. His wife had been killed in a Revel not long after, and he no longer had anything left to lose. He was the first to see Potter outside from the Bulwark.

He shouted, " Potter inbound! He's got a prisoner!"

Rhodes didn't know that Hermione Granger was one of the Mudbloods they were so desperately trying to kill, but his words had the effect that Harry had wanted, though he didn't know it. The gates cracked open to let some Death Eater interception force out. Potter shouted, " Don't come any closer yet!"

The leader of the Interception team, Jugson, shouted back, " Why are you here Potter?"

Potter shouted back, " I'm interested in joining the Dark Lord!"

Rhodes caught his breath at those words, as did most of the Death Eaters in attendance. By the look on Granger's face, she hadn't expected that either. Potter shouted, "I have a prisoner you want, and I am willing to bargain!"

_Holy shit, he's holding her for ransom! _ Rhodes thought as the other Death Eaters tried to negotiate with Potter. Then, he cursed, " _Crucio!"_

The bloodcurdling screams from the bushy haired girl was enough of a distraction for almost everyone. Then Potter pulled another wand, while he was still cursing her, and he shouted, " _Spiritu Vocem!"_

There was giant blast of sound, and the glass in the building shattered. Rhodes fell down, clasping his ears in pain.

Deeper in the building, Rebastian Lestrange heard the screams and the sound blast, and began to move his way towards the front of the building. He never saw Arthur Weasley hit him with three stunners, a body bind, and a silencer all for good measure.

( Harry)

_" We got Lestrange."_

Harry pressed his hand to his ear as he let Hermione out of the Cruciatus, " _Got you. On our way in now."_

Harry pulled Hermione by the hair out of the crossfire, and began his assault. He pointed his wand at the top of the building, _Sphaera Lucis!_

A large orb of light flew from his wand, and exploded over the building. Those inside were shielded, but those outside were blinded by the flash of light. Harry charged, but he kept his phoenix wand pointed ahead of him. He shouted at a large crowd of gathered Death Eaters, " _Rigentes Pluvia!"_

A burst of freezing spray fired from his wand, and stuck to the DEs, slowing their progress, and freezing some of them solid. Pointing his wand at the frozen ones, he cast _Pugillo terrae!_

A massive fist made of stone emerged from the concrete, and slammed into the frozen Death Eaters, shattering them. With another Fist of Stone, he smashed through the outlying walls, and entered the confined corridors of the station. He looked around, nothing. He heard Ron buzz in, " _Harry? Where are you?"_

_ " I'm in the station, advancing to Point Alpha. How fares the gate?"_

_ " We've got it under control. Ginny took a Bone Crusher to her right femur, but she'll be fine. George got hit with a Cutter, but we got the blood flow stemmed. No other casualties, but what was the big idea casting the Crucio on Hermione?"_

_ " I needed to tank…"_

Harry shut off the buzzer, and ran into the Communications room. There weren't any DEs in there at the start, but he had to be careful not to hurt the equipment. He buzzed Kingsley, " _Chrome, I'm in the Communications office now. You almost here?"_

_ " No, repeat, we are not anywhere close to Checkpoint Alpha! We are encountering Heavy Resistance near the south wing! We are under heavy fire. Proceed with mission!"_

Harry nodded, and walked over to the console. It was about five o'clock, so the evening news was about to come on. Harry switched the console off of Radio to Live Broadcast. He was shocked to see how much Muggle Technology was being used in the WWN. He stepped up to the Mic. _Here we go,_ he thought.

-098767890-435-3-46-34-624-62-346-34-52-6-45-567-56-4-53-4-456-56-7345-64-5-4-56345

( Hogwarts)

Neville Longbottom was camped out in the Room of Requirment with a few other Freedom Fighters. Seamus Finnegan, Susan Bones, Dean Thomas, Hannah Abbott ( His personal favorite, they had really advanced their relationship), and a few others, most notably Luna Lovegood, who had decided not to go home for the Holidays.

He turned on the Wizarding Wireless Network to see how the DEs were doing in their ever more successful effort to conquer the Wizarding World. The last song ( A song called Eye to Eye by an American band named Fates Warning) had just finished. The voice announced, " We would like to interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast for this important announcement."

In its place was a voice Neville almost couldn't believe he was hearing, " Ladies and Gentleman of the Wizarding World, I am Harry James Potter. I bring to you this message of encouragement, of honor, of valor, and most importantly, of resistance. It is my task to tell you that the fight is not yet over."

Neville yelled to Seamus, " Seamus! Get the others! Harry's on the Wireless!"

Seamus dropped the parcel of food he was carrying, "WHAT?"

Neville shoved him back into the passageway, " GO! Get the others!"

Neville turned back to the wireless.

" Friends, rebels, countrymen, listen to my words and heed their meaning. Glean from them the inspiration you shall need to overthrow this abomination that is Voldemort. His task was great. He has risen from being an orphan in a little orphanage in the middle of London to be the greatest villain since Sauron. That's right people, Voldemort was little more than a pathetic little orphan who didn't know he was the Heir of Slytherin until he went to Hogwarts. To you Lord Voldemort, have but one thing to say. COME AT ME!"

Neville's jaw dropped. Seamus and the others heard the last part. He was starring at Neville like, " Did he just say what I think he said?"

Neville replied, " Yes he did."

9876543567890-=-456-34-56-435-7456-74-678-65-4-56-3457-67-856-6-5-67-54-6745-67-6-7

( Dark Lord)

" To you, Lord Voldemort, I have but one thing to say. COME AT ME BRO!

Voldemort sat on his throne, and was listening with growing fury at Harry Potter's voice on the Wireless. But when Potter challenged him, he snapped. He hit Bella with a series of Cruciatus curses for no reason at all. He began to systematically destroy his own Throne Room in anger. He was so busy, that he didn't even hear the rest of Potter's speech.

" I speak for all of us when I say that we must be rid of this vermin. He is beneath our stature. To those who sit at home, bemoaning the situation, I need only tell you to Stand Firm, for in the years to come, you shall look proudly upon this day, and realize that this is the Turning Point in the war, and you shall tell your children, ' Son, that was my finest hour.' Have faith, my fellow citizens! Hearken to my words, and find the heart to fight once again! The time has come for us to overthrow the regimes and mindset that has so plagued our civilization. In many ways, this is the destruction of Magical Britain as we knew it, but in its place, shall rise an even greater civilization!"

Snape smiled inwardly as he listened to Potter's speech. He felt his own cold heart burning with the ideals to fight again. Then he reminded himself that he was already fighting the Dark Lord in more than one way.

8765467809-3-452-345-24563405730560245065656-7-7896-7-456-45-656-8-663-567-49-67-5-3-65-9-567

(Station)

Both Death Eaters and Order fighters stopped to listen to Potter on the loudspeakers.

" My fellow fighters, we fight not of power, we fight for freedom. Is it not better to die a free man than live forever as a slave? Is it not better to fight than to calmly go into that lonely dark night? Another question I ask, is what is there to fear of the Death Eaters? Their numbers? The man commanding them? What? I ask you. What is there to fear of them? A wise muggle once said that there is nothing to fear but fear itself. THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR! RISE! Rise my people! And Take Back what was taken from you! We are still fighting, there is no reason for you not to! Fare well!"

Harry finished, and fired a Blasting Hex at the console just in time to see Fenrir Greyback coming at him like a boss. Harry quickly fired _Argento Miserat!_ A blast of silver shot forth from his wand, and pierced Greyback's stomach. Greyback simply glared at Harry as he walked up with the wrist blade extended. Harry muttered, " This is for all those little kids that you turned for no reason." and drew the blade harshly across Greyback's throat. Harry pulled the werewolf's head back to let the blood flow more easily. As Greyback died, Harry spit down his neck.

Harry began to make his way towards the Southern Wing of the Building, which was where Kingsley said his men were holding out. Harry could hear the shouting well before reaching the corridor. He saw the DEs had finally cornered Kingsley, Arthur, and the others. Harry whispered, " _Gelu Iaculis!"_

A concentrated stream of freezing air burst forth in a large cone, engulfing the DEs. Several were frozen on contact, and those remaining were slowed. Harry took advantage, "_Ventus Lamina, Forma Fulgur, Reducto!"_

A razor thin blade of air, followed by a burst of lightning that leaped between targets and the traditional Reductor Curse. Arthur Weasley cleaned up the last Death Eater with a Reductor curse of his own. Kingsley was carrying the unconscious body of Rebastian Lestrange, " We got Lestrange Potter. We ready to leave?"

" Yep. You guys get out, I'll handle the building."

They ran quickly through the building to the outside, where Ron and his group had subdued the remaining Death Eaters out there as well. Harry turned to the building, pointing his golden Wand at the ground beneath it. He roared, " MAXIMA TERRA TREMUIT!"

The Earth beneath the building began to rock and roll, fissures ripped open all around it. In a mighty lurch, the earth ripped apart right along the center of the building, sucking it into the large fissure that opened beneath it. Smoke began to rise from other buildings in the area. A USGS geologist stationed in the town felt the earthquake, checked his Seismograph and Richter Scales. The Earthquake registered as a Seven point five, but for some reason, the damage was contained to a city block in radius. The quandary drove the man to insanity, but he took the findings and published the theory called , " 10.5 Apocalypse"

94812--094812-59834-5981304923

( Back At Grimmauld Place)

Harry was barking orders as soon as they entered the house, " Kingsley! Tie that bastard up to a chair in the basement for me. Ron! Put Ginny's arm on ice and into a splint until one of us can get a heal on it. Arthur! Give some chocolate to Hermione, it should stave off some of the effects of that Crucio. George! Sit down before you make that broken ankle worse goddamnit! Do I have to do everything?"

Ron sighed, " If he keeps talking like that, he will have to do everything."

Harry barked, " Quiet Red Six! Now's not the time to be lazy! We've got injured!"

Ron mused, " Since when was I Red Six?"

Harry ignored the idiot. He stomped over to the fridge, pulled out the first drink he could, a Pepsi, and cracked it open. He took a big gulp, and sat down, muttering, " Nothing like a cold one after a hard day."

Arthur came bustling in, " Kingsley's got him all set up in there. Whenever you're ready, Harry."

Harry grabbed his Pepsi, and gestured for Arthur to lead the way. The two walked down the stairs. Rebastian was tied up to a chair, he was conscious, but he didn't have his wand or a port key to get out with. He spat, " Potter? What are you doing here?"

" You are my prisoner. I'm gonna be the one asking the questions here."

Rebastian scoffed, " Yeah right. Everyone knows your Dumbledore's Golden Boy. Couldn't kill a damn fly if it didn't bit you first."

Harry grabbed his head, and starred into the cold eyes of the youngest Lestrange, " I'm not Dumbledore's golden boy anymore. Now, we can do this the easy way with you telling me what I ask for, or we can do this the hard way."

Rebastian muttered, " Do your worst Potter. The Dark Lord's Crucio is far worse than yours. Bella can attest to that."

Harry smiled, " Oh, who said I would even be using magic?"

Rebastian looked a little confused for a moment, until Harry violently snapped one of his fingers back, breaking it. Harry pulled out a small sledgehammer, " I brought this with me from my uncle's house. It works really good for hitting people with. Now, you will answer my questions, or you will start losing fingers. Pick your poison."

" What do you want?"

Harry asked, " The Dark Lord's safehouse. Where is it?"

" Malfoy Manor, but it won't matter. He'll be gone when you get there. He's got a trip to Nurmengard scheduled."

" Dear me, I guess that's a finger right there."

Harry slammed the sledge down on Rebastian's left pinky, smashing it. Blood spattered, as the pulverized bones splintered through the surface of the skin, and the fragments of his finger nails dug into the soft flesh beneath. Harry whispered, " Now, do you want to tell me the truth, or do I get to do the whole hand next?"

" Ok, the Dark Lord's going to Nurmengard to interrogate Gellert Grindelwald, because of the Elder Wand. He doesn't know where it is or how to take ownership of it."

Harry smiled inwardly at Snape, who had thought ahead of time to get it from Dumbledore's grave, " Not of any use than. Next question. What type of troops does the Dark Lord have?"

" Most of our troops are Dark Creatures like Werewolves, Giants and Acromentulas. We weren't ever able to get the Vampires to join us. Don't know why. "

" Now for plans."

Rebastian hesitated for a moment, but he looked at the claws on the hammer Harry had in his hand, " The Dark Lord wants to use Hogwarts as a chance to draw you out of hiding. He thinks that the hiding game is an insult to him and his dream. He wants to kill you really bad. He almost lusts to kill you. All of his missions carry the unspoken order of ' Capture Potter, but DO NOT KILL HIM! He's mine!'"

Harry mused, " Well, that's certainly interesting. You've been pretty open with me here Rebastian. Any reason why?"

" I don't like pain anymore than the next guy."

Harry frowned, " Well, I'm pretty sure that Anna Travers didn't like pain either. You've lasted your usefulness. _Avada Kedavra. Incendio. Evanesco."_

Rebastian's ashes faded away. Harry smiled, sitting his hammer down, and going back up to the waiting Order.

Latin

Maxima Terra Tremuit: Great Earth Shaker. Creates a powerful Earth quake in a closed area.

Ventus Lamina: Wind Blade. Elemental version of Sectumsempra.

Gelu Iaculis: Frost Thrower. Similar to Flamma Iaculis, except that it sprays ice and snow.

Pugillo Terrae: Fist of Earth. Forms a giant fist of stone and slams it into enemies.

Sphaera Lucis: Sphere of Light. Fires a large orb of light that explodes, blinding enemies.

Argento Miserat: Silver Shot. Useful for facing enemies such as Werewolves, it fires a blast of semi-liquid silver that penetrates armor and skin. After penetration, it congeals and hardens. Then it shatters, dealing extra damage.

Rigentes Pluvia: Freezing Rain. AOE attack that slows enemies, and eventually freezes them solid if they are under it for too long. Shattered Enemies instantly die.


	7. Chapter 6 Running Through the Fire

Chapter 6 Running Through the Fire

A/N: I really like the reception Aggro Harry has gotten.

" Alright guys, we need to start getting ready to attack Malfoy Manor. Preferably, we should take it out while the Dark Lord isn't there, but if necessary, we will attack him with full force. Nobody One Vs One's him except me. Got it?"

The Order nodded its consent. Harry continued, " I've got Severus on full duty at Hogwarts. He says that the Carrows are going a little nuts with their new positions of power. I will be commissioning a strike on Hogwarts tonight. Who wants to volunteer?"

Lupin immediately volunteered, as did Arthur and Kingsley. Hermione asked, " May I go?"

Harry glared, " No. I need competent warriors. Not bushy haired wannabes. Hey? How about you there Charlie?"

Charlie smirked, " On duty, captain."

Harry smirked, " Excellent. You will be fighting alongside of me. I got Severus to disable the wards for me, so we can get in with no trouble. We take out the Carrows, and any Slytherin fools who decide to fight with them! Got it?"

Lupin asked, " But what if they aren't Slytherins? I mean, this should be an assassination mission."

" That's exactly what it is. Me and Charlie will be going in via the Headmaster's personal Floo, which is a secured connection. I will personally take out Alecto, Charlie can have the other one. I've heard some rather disturbing things about both of them, and they deserve nothing short of the death they say the eat anyway."

Ron muttered as Harry left, " Damn Harry's turned brutal here lately. Did us leaving him in the woods really affect him that much? Or is it something else?"

Fleur heard Ron, " No, Ronald. I think zis is who 'Arry really is."

Ron's eyes opened slightly, " But…but this is nothing like the guy who didn't want a thing to do with his fame and glory. He just wanted a family. And…."

Arthur looked upon his son with a tad bit of sympathy for the first time in weeks, " I don't think any of us were willing to believe that Harry might have a darker side, or that his somewhat happy, lonely personality was really just hiding something."

Lupin chipped in, " I've seen it come forth before. All those times you guys just thought he was being a moody teen, were really just small flashes of his true, ruthless personality that he suppressed all those years. I would hazard a guess to say he got it from the Dursleys."

Ron looked down, " That would mean…"

" That the Harry all of us thought we knew was just an illusion, similar to the way Luna Lovegood behaves. If it is, then the Dursleys have affected him in more ways than any of us ever thought. Cursed muggles,", Lupin spoke with a venom in his voice that was generally reserved for Death Eaters. Most everyone else at the table flinched at the tone of his voice.

Hermione looked downcast. Ron put an arm around her, " I don't know where he gets off using the Cruciatus on Hermione. "

Lupin frowned, " I'll be honest, that's the one thing Harry's done that I didn't really approve of. But nonetheless, the mission was a success. I've reports of uprisings all over Magical Britain. The People are rising up. The Dark Lord's already lost thirty men in violent uprisings. There haven't been many civilian casualties yet, but the reports are that they are starting to gather together. Forming a vigilante rebellion group of sorts."

Arthur looked at him, " Is that so? Good. This war may be over faster than anticipated."

Lupin frowned again, " I wouldn't count on it Arthur. This may just be the beginning."

34-523-452-345-2345-34-523-45-234523-45-345-2345234-5-45-345-34-5-4-632-46-492-495

( Harry)

" Alright Charlie. I want you to get Alecto. I'm going after Amycus. We get in, we get out. Got it?"

Charlie nodded, " Got it captain."

" Let's rock."

Harry slung his Invisibility cloak on and stalked into Hogwarts. Snape and Flitwick had already disabled the wards, allowing easy access into the school via Apparation. Stalking through the corridors, Harry quickly made his way up to the fourth floor. He ran back into Charlie, because apparently the Carrows roomed together. Just making things easier.

Charlie commented as they waited outside of the door, listening, " This should be simple."

" Never underestimate the enemy. 3….2…..1"

Harry blasted the door open, and caught Amycus with his pants down. Literally. Harry smirked as he AK'd the Death Eater. He heard Alecto shouting, " Amycus? What's going on?"

" Get her Charlie."

Charlie nodded, and silently cast Sectumsempra to behead her. Harry commented, " Sloppy. You need to get used to the AK, Charlie. Cleaner and not as painful. Harder to trace too."

Charlie grimaced, " Damn Harry. You've really become a professional killer haven't you?"

" Necessary evil. For there to freedom, there must be Black Fire."

Charlie shuddered, but they began to make their way towards the Headmaster's office. When they entered, Snape smirked, " Did you get it done?"

" Any doubt Severus? They were no match."

Charlie chuckled, " Yeah, we caught Amycus with his pants down, so he was easy, and Alecto got curious George'd."

Snape nodded, and threw some Floo Powder into the fireplace, " Report your success to base."

Charlie ran into the Floo, and was gone in an instant, leaving Harry with Snape. Severus hissed, " So, you took down the Carrows'? You do realize that the Dark Lord's probably going to send someone even worse next right?"

Harry chuckled, " Not if you hire someone else first."

Snape glared, " Are you insinuating…"

" Yes, I want you to hire me, under an alias of course, before the Dark Lord brings his fist down. I'll handle the Defense class. I know enough Dark Arts as well to teach for the Dark Lord. And I could certainly handle Ancient Runes with Rune Reading."

Snape took a look at his roster, " Funny how you know all three of my openings are Ancient Runes, DADA, and Muggle Studies. You want all three?"

Harry glared, " Fuck no. Two's stretching it. I'll see if I can get Hermione to do it. Which she probably will, because she's been doing everything but shag me to get back in my good graces. Speaking of which, she's still right good ways away."

Snape whispered, " So she is. How's the other two?"

Harry smiled at the Potions Master turned Headmaster, " Can't get over the fact that your two best snakes fell for the biggest Lion out there eh?"

Severus frowned slightly, " At least you live up to it now. You know the saying though. Lion with small penis must compensate with big roar."

Harry's expression instantly darkened, " Please don't make that joke again."

Snape raised an eyebrow, " Hmm, makes one wonder though…."

" So you going to hire me or what?"

Snape laughed, " Of course! Who else? Lucius Malfoy?"

Harry called out Fawkes, whom he'd forgotten was his "familiar" and flashed to Grimmauld Place. It was at this moment that Snape felt his Mark burn.

27-8-9-9-2-90-20-4-5-2345-345-46-4-6-234-57-6-56-74-674-563-4445-45-54678-67-845-6756-75467-56-75-6754-6746567-56-9-49-6-756-45-65-67-798-467-5-94-6746584-567-45687-4567-567567

(Dark Lord)

Snape's mouth dropped when he walked into the Dark Lord's Inner Sanctum. There were TWO Dark Lords! One turned to him and smiled, " So you've noticed, Severus. This is my, well, I guess, my twin brother. Marcellus Riddle."

The other tilted his head like an owl, " You might actually say that we are the same man, just opposite natures reincarnated. Yes, we know about that little ritual you and Potter did in the woods."

_Oh fuck,_ Snape thought as he looked at the twin atrocities standing in front of him. Voldemort laughed cruelly, " Oh how nice it is to see you squirm, Severus. We actually approve, otherwise, we wouldn't have this lovely little development."

Marcellus started now, " We have the same power, same everything. But we are also two, and yet we are also one. Mental link and all. It is like Magic saw fit to level the playing field with Potter once more. I suppose you are familiar with the Balance Theory?"

" The Theory that all Magic creates balance in the battles. In order for there to be peace in the world, there must be a previous conflict between a Dark Lord and a Light Lord. Also, if a Light Lord should forsake his Light, and become a Dark Lord, then Magic shall balance that by creating a Chosen One. A Chosen One shall have the power to defeat the re-designated Forsaken One. Should a Dark Lord betray the Darkness and become a Light Lord, the same shall be done for the Dark side. However, if both should happen within a reasonable amount of time, then something far more powerful shall be created. A Grey Lord."

Both Voldemort and Marcellus smirked at Snape. Marcellus was the one who finished it off, " A Grey Lord is created when a Light Lord becomes a Dark Lord, and a Dark Lord becomes a Light Lord. Since Dumbledore was born to Darkness, but served light, and we were born to Light, but served Darkness, Potter was born to the Grey. A Grey Lord shall command the power of both Light and Darkness, yet serve neither. He shall be the one who balances the equations. Given our caliber, Potter was given more power than he should have. Thus, my essence was cloned during the Destruction/Restoration Ritual, and there are now two of me."

Snape swallowed the thick glob of spittle that had gathered in his mouth. This was bad. Really bad. Not that Potter had had it easy before, but the destiny of taking out the Dark Lord just got a lot worse. Two Dark Lords who were equal in every way, in fact, magical clones of each other, would be neigh on impossible. Unless Potter really had something going for him. Then again, Snape had come to really respect the boy's cunning as of late. He had taken to thrashing Weasley in chess, something that even Snape had trouble with. Perhaps Potter had some real aces up his sleeve? Either way, Snape would need to get this information to him quickly.

16-6-7-7-8-8-8-9-9-9-543-45-2467-27-8-745-645-7568-38-8-8-6-456-38-38-45-65-783-85-7-3456-

( Harry)

" Harry, I just don't know how in the hell you beat me. Who the hell moves their king first?"

Harry laughed at Ron's frustrations, " A king must lead if he wants his subjects to follow, Ron. By the way, I think I just beat you in nine minutes. Time Hermione?"

Hermione checked the stop watch she had been using to time the match, much to Ron's chagrin, " Eight minutes and forty seconds."

Ron blushed red. Harry just loved playing with Snape, because Snape was a real chess player. Not just a Wizard's chess player. He toured the British Circuits, and had been a Grandmaster for a time. A grandmaster of chess was someone with a ranked ELO of over 2500, and played in tournament levels of 2600 or better. However, Snape's skill had lapsed a little. Harry actually enjoyed the fact that he could actually learn something, even if it wasn't actually useful, from Snape. Proved he wasn't that bad of a teacher.

Harry sighed as his watch alarm went off, " Well, I need to get back to Hogwarts. My new base for now. Don't contact me."

He called Fawkes and flashed out.

3457-3456-456-3456-456-345-6345-63-56-3456-3456-5-65-64-563-456-56546-45-3456-45-3546

( Harry Later)

He sometimes couldn't believe he'd ever thought of Hogwarts as his true home. Granted, it was always a welcome respite from the Dursleys, but the castle had, in its own strange ways, been just as cruel. In many ways, it had been worse. In these halls, were the constraints that prevented him from becoming the Grey Lord he was now destined to be earlier. He'd survived Voldemort a grand total five times, and several other attempts on his life, but it was no thanks to the naïve teachers of this castle.

He was sitting at the desk of the DADA office, as he wondered about McGonagall. Yeah, she was great Peace time teacher. But she was absolutely terrible as a wartime teacher. Seriously, she's teaching Seventh Years how to turn a rock into a china cup. That's not helping anyone on the battlefield. Even though Battle Transfiguration was considered above and beyond the standards of even Aurors, it still had its merits.

Then there was Flitwick. For a former Dueling Champion, his Charms didn't exactly help a lot on the battlefield. But then again, Flitwick himself had told Harry that his Dueling styles would have him killed in record time on the battlefield. So Flitwick was kind of excused.

And of course, there was the Defense. Shame there was an Offense class at Hogwarts, but Defense had been trash for years before Harry had come to Hogwarts. Even though Quirrel was on his second tour, he still had never served more than one year in sequence. The lack of a competent teacher that wasn't a Werewolf or a Death Eater in disguise was more than making for the reason why so many of his former classmates were dead, or injured.

The first student he sought out was Neville, because he just had a feeling that Neville had a resistance movement going. The old boy wasn't the greatest warrior ever, but he certainly knew how to get people to follow him around. Even if he was just playing around as Harry's Second in Command. Harry chuckled at that notion after he'd found Neville hiding in the Room of Requirement.

He'd gotten lucky, because Seamus had forgotten the old " And let no one enter this room" part of the requirement. Suffice to say, it was only his new fangled Grey Lord power empowering his Protego, plus some shield runes, that enabled him to survive the roughly thirty Stunners hurled at his persona. Of course, he also had to spend some time healing the ten people who got caught in his explosion trigger, but better safe than sorry in his mind.

Neville had been surprised to say the least. He and Harry had been about to go to duel right there in front of everyone when Dean stopped them. Harry had hid his relief, because he was caught with only his Calligraphy pen and his Life Wand on him. The Wand of Life could never be used to harm any sentient living creature, something he'd found while being attacked in the woods. It was the opposite of the Death Wand in so many ways. So many unhelpful ways.

Harry continued to muse over his situation. He was the King of the Phoenixes, the Commander of the Resistance, the Knight of Britain. And yet he was scheduled to be teaching at a school? Somehow, it seemed rather counterproductive. He still had that Malfoy raid to plan, and he still needed more men. Even though he had sent several recruiting pitches over the reset Wizarding Wireless, he'd gotten maybe, two recruits? And he wasn't going to be writing home to Aunt Petunia about those two either, because Vernon had more tolerance for Wizards than they had magical talent between them.

Alas, the old DA wasn't going to be his personal army of Knights either. Some were powerful ( Neville) , some were skilled ( Lisa) , some were cunning ( Susan) , and some were walking spell books (Padma) , but none of them were the unique combination of the skill sets he needed. Plus, he still had a reluctance to send his classmates to the front lines. Even if he'd already seen both Susan Bones and Lisa Turpin in his bed, and he'd only been there a few hours, he still wasn't sending them to the front lines unless he needed to. Being a hero's tough sometimes.

It was at this time that Snape came back with a rather urgent expression on his face. Harry scowled at him, causing the batty Headmaster to glare back, " What, did I interrupt something?"

" Good thing you didn't show up an hour ago, or you would have been treated to a nice show."

Snape slapped his hand to his face, " Damn you Potter, you better not be screwing my students! Teachers aren't supposed to have anything more than a professional relationship with their students!"

Harry raised a sly eyebrow, " I'm not exactly a professional you know. I'm also a teenager that's had a lot put on his shoulders. Don't worry, it isn't like any of these relations are permanent at all. Just relieving some stress."

" You shouldn't treat women like pawns in chess."

Harry commented, " And you should say anything? Ah well, maybe I did use my new status as a Grey Lord and the press coining me the Hero of the Wizarding world. But hey, all's fair in love and war."

" I guess the aggression is not just at the enemy then. Well, hate to spoil your good mood, but…"

Harry cut him off, " Lisa climaxed too fast and Susan was a fish. I'm not in that good a mood."

Snape glared, " Getting a woman to climax isn't something to be upset about, you know that roughly thirty percent of women actually can't right?"

" Doesn't matter, I prefer to be in synch with my woman. And what do you know about sex anyway, Mr. Virgin?"

Snape flushed in anger at the jibe, but kept his tongue in check. He was clearly biting it pretty hard, so he decided to change the subject, " Well, the Dark Lord has a little surprise for you."

" What? An STD that can't be cured with magic?"

Snape darkened, " No, magic has created a Clone of him. There are now two Dark Lords. The new one calls himself Marcellus."

" Fuck"

* * *

A/N: Apologies for late updates and all. I've been working on other stories as of late, not to mention I was finishing Lord of the Marauders, a story I'm still rather surprised caught on as well as it did. That's when I remembered this story, and took a look at it. Then I remembered that I'd been so busy on other stories that I'd forgotten where I'd wanted this one to go. Thankfully, I took a look back at the original versions of Chapters 5 and 6.

Readers will remember that I got rid of the original versions of Chapters 5 and 6 because of the predominantly negative response they got, based mostly on the violence used by Harry on the Order Members who didn't want to cooperate with him and my own version of a Bond called the Trinity Bond. Well, I rediscovered a plot device in those chapters.

Voldemort's Magical Clone, the unintended side effect of the Restoration Ritual. As well as an explanation of the Grey Lord.

Grandmaster: A real international Chess title. It's as high as it gets, so if Snape was a grandmaster, he was a beast, and probably still is even if his skills lapsed.

Aggro Harry returns: Now more aggressive than ever, and not just against his enemies!


	8. Chapter 7 Project Aegis

Chapter 7 Project Aegis

" _Unfortunately, I no longer have anything to fight for"_ Anonymous Order Member after the First Fall of Voldemort. Identity still unknown, but believed to be Mundungus Fletcher.

" _He who knows himself and his enemy shall have no fear of defeat. He who knows only himself shall know peril sometimes. He who knows not himself nor the enemy shall ever be in peril" _Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

" Well, this is unexpected to say the least."

Harry sneered at Dumbledore's Portrait, " Is that all you have to say? I have business to attend to."

Snape laughed, " Unless said business is actually related to schoolwork, rather than working your wand, then no, you don't. "

" Damn you, Severus. I'm an, uh, busy man. "

" I'm sure you are."

Dumbledore sighed in impatience, " Get your minds out of the gutter, gentlemen, and I use that term lightly. We have much bigger problems than getting laid."

" There is NEVER a bigger problem than getting laid."

Dumbledore cut his eyes at Harry, " Be that as it may, we have a world to save here. One Dark Lord is a problem. Two is the Apocalypse. Harry, I sure hope you've been planning something. We can't let the Dark Lords get too comfortable."

Harry cleared his throat, " Well then. I have been planning an attack on Malfoy Manor, but seeing as to that is the Dark Lords' main base, that may not be such a good idea. However, we do need to make a statement similar to the one made in the Wireless Battle. I think we should attack the Ministry."

Snape sneered, " Well, at least you think big."

Harry smiled at Snape, " Go big or go home, Snape."

" Stop bickering you two. We need a plan. I happen to think attacking the Ministry would be a good idea, but Dillys' portrait has some intel you might find disturbing. Take it away."

Dillys spoke with a little bit of an edge, " It is my displeasure to inform you that I have come across some vital tactical information. It appears that the Dark Lord Voldemort plans to attack Hogwarts at some point in the early future. He will be using overwhelming force, possibly in the thousands if he brings all of his toys."

" D-D-Did you say THOUSANDS?"

Snape looked at Dumbledore, worried, " I've not heard of this yet, but it is likely that the Dark Lords know of my spying. It will be unlikely I can gather worthwhile intelligence. Dillys, where did you gather this intel from?"

The ex-headmaster/healing pioneer answered, " The Head Death Eaters held a meeting at 's, rather than their usual places, at the two Dark Lords' behest. They appeared to be aware of a spy, and a Bellatrix Lestrange has sworn to tear Severus Snape's balls off at the most opportune time."

Snape cringed, " I'm not really using them, but I would rather keep them in place. Anyway, can we move on? What is the projected date?"

Dillys answered, " First week of May. There is no definitive date. The Dark Lords are gathering their full power for this assault. The hammer will fall heaviest on Hogwarts."

Harry slammed his fist on a desk, " It's January right now. We've got a tentative assault date of roughly three to four months from now. We don't know if they'll step up the assault date. We have to prepare with the idea that Tommy and Marcy will attack early."

Dumbledore's portrait shook his head, " Tom is not one for his punctuality. Never has been. If the only blemish on his school records are any indication, he was generally late for class. Granted, we know it to be for other reasons than just simple tardiness, but nonetheless, I would project the second week."

Snape cut his eyes at Dumbledore, " I don't think so. Not in this matter. I agree with Harry here. Hogwarts is a big target, and Riddle has ever had his eye set on it. Without a substantial increase to our defenses, there's no way we could withstand an attack of that caliber. Not even with the entire Order and any Aurors who might still be loyal."

Harry smirked, " Ah, but we have one advantage that the Brothers Riddle don't. Rune Readers."

Harry pulled out the Marauders Map, and activated it. He pointed out certain choke points in Hogwarts itself, " We can wire the school with Rune Triggered Traps. RTTs as I will call them. Some of them will be simple, but deadly. You know, making the air super heat, conjure a pillar of flames, freeze an area, that kind of thing. But others. Others will be grand, and deadly. Something to make the Brothers Riddle fear us. Or me rather, because I highly doubt Severus here knows the runes to craft such an elaborate plan as my own."

Snape scoffed, " And what makes you say that? I've been a Rune Reader for almost twenty years."

Harry smirked, " Ah, but you haven't been studying the unique reactions of Matter and Antimatter have you? Physics maybe a foreign language to most wizards, but the theories of Quantum Mechanics can be used to extremely deadly effects. Magic can defy many Laws of Physics. Example: Energy can never be created nor destroyed. If that's true, then where does the Avada Kedavra come from? Matter can never be created nor destroyed. If so, then where do we conjure things from?"

Snape looked at Harry with a new respect, " Blending Muggle Science with magic. Interesting. So what will this do?"

Harry's smirk got really evil, " While only theoretical, the reactions of regular Matter, and Anti-Matter is said to be extremely explosive. Only a few grams with the power to level a city such as New York."

Even Snape's eyes widened, " Only a few grams? What do you intend to do with this?"

Harry laughed, " Only create a giant Rune Circle, and activate when all the Death Eaters are right in the middle of it. It is my theory, that I can control the reaction within the circle. God only help us if it gets out of the circle."

Dumbledore cleared his throat, " Uh, Harry. I'd like to think of that as a last gasp measure. Not the primary weapon."

" Of course, I'll be having other things as well. Energy manipulation, potential Magic Null Zones, super imposing Gravity on them, creating giant plant roots, etc."

Snape raised an eyebrow, " How come you never showed this much cunning in class?"

" I never realized how cunning I was myself. That is, until I was forced to use it. You guys should really thank Ron and Hermione for being such assholes. What would I be doing right now? Trekking around Godric's Hollow looking for Horcruxes or breaking into Gringotts?"

Dumbledore chuckled, " I would certainly hope not. Either way, how long will it take to wire the school?"

Snape looked out the window with a fierce scowl, "Every bit of the three months we have. With just me and Harry here, it'll take several weeks just to do the first floor."

Harry stood up, " I have already thought of that. I have sent several, trustworthy Order Members on the Place of Power Quest. Remus, Kingsley, and a few others will have it done in a week or so."

" Wise thinking Harry. We will need help."

Harry began to lay out the plot, " Snape, for now, you will have to be the one wiring the interior of Hogwarts. Make any excuse to shut down a corridor, do anything. As Headmaster, you are not responsible for an individual class. Use all the time you can on this. I will handle the Grounds. Lord knows, I will likely need the entire Grounds, Hogsmeade, and maybe even the Forbidden Forest to power what I have in mind."

Snape hissed, " What sort of incredible reaction are you trying to do?"

" One that will save our asses. Or at least destroy all the Death Eaters. Tommy and Marcy will likely live, but no one else."

Dumbledore frowned, " I don't like the sound of this. Can you tell us?"

" No, afraid not. A magician never reveals his tricks after all."

Snape asked, " So what about the Malfoy raid?"

" I have a new idea. It's going to be nice. In fact, I've had Dobby writing up the runes ever since Rebastian told me about it being Volde's safe house. Since the Darkest one is now out with his bro, we can trigger it."

Harry pulled out his Rune Pin, and drew up a quick trigger. He slit his finger and pressed it against the trigger, saying, " I, Harry James Potter, invoke the Runes as drawn by the House Elf Dobby on the House of Malfoy. Engage!"

The starlit sky began to cloud up outside.

1-7-8-8-99-53-45-45-34-7-8-8229-29-e4-345-3467-8-29-545-23-545-8-84-5-48-87-436-56-8343-6458-75-645-645-45-34-8-4-72-8-7-99-29289-9-09-19-9-18-98-7-6-454-76-78-8-8-8-8-9-9-7-6-56-5-6556-5

( Malfoy Manor)

Narcissa Malfoy was sitting on the edge of the bed she normally shared with her husband of roughly twenty years. But Lucius hadn't visited her in a long time. Not since that traitorous bastard Snape had somehow twisted his Unbreakable Vow to kill Draco and save the Davis tramp. She sighed as she looked up at the stars outside. They reminded her of better times. She often wished she had never married Lucius and gotten caught up in this Death Eater insanity. Granted it hadn't exactly been her idea in the first place. She thought of her eldest sister with vehemence, _If Andromeda hadn't run off with that damn Tonks, then this would never have happened! Or even better, why did I have to be a Black? Those who stuck with tradition even after it was outlawed?_

Narcissa was too busy lamenting her life to notice the sky clouding outside. However, she did notice the arcs of light that began to bounce off the ground around the house. She looked out the window.

In a giant circle around the manor, and all over the manor itself, were complex weavings of runes. She had taken Ancient Runes at Hogwarts, back when it was a respectable class, and knew some of the runes. Long sequences of the Planetary Rune of Venus, interrupted periodically by the Celtic Rune for Anger, with the Symbol for the element Earth at the end of each chain seemed kind of strange.

Here, she began to run into runes that she didn't recognize. Some of them looked extremely sinister, and seemed to correlate with some of the symbols used on the Periodic Table of Elements that Muggles were so fond of. Strange symbols began to glimmer in the darkness, their lights shifted and changed quickly.

It was now that Narcissa began to get scarred. She saw small flickers of fire beginning to dance around on the earth. Not fire, what looked like plasma. It was almost blindingly hot. She decided that now would be a good time to run. She flung open the door to her bedroom. She ran down the hall, and called a house elf to bring her a small bit of clothing. She took it from the terrified Elf quickly, never breaking stride. Almost at the door, she felt fatigue catching up to her. While the pinnacle of beauty, she had never been a physical specimen like Bella had been. If anything, Narcissa had been the " Just pretty face" of the Black sisters.

She reached the manor door, ignoring the Death Eaters who tried to hail her. She flung it open, and was greeted to a stunning sight. Fire was literally dancing across the earth. Even worse, the earth was beginning to redden and bubble. She gasped as she walked out of the door into incredible heat. She cast a cooling charm on herself, and hoped it would be enough. At this point, she didn't care about the other Death Eaters. Self-preservation was her only thought.

She walked off the patio, and into the festering hellscape. She felt the heat burning into her, it was seeping through her charms. Her clothes became unbearable as sweat began to roll off of her. Instead of cooling her, it was beginning to boil, burning her. She was almost burning alive. She kept running, and reached the edge of the rune circle. It was hissing at her. She couldn't risk walking on it, it might kill her. She took a step back, and jumped it.

Her clothing caught fire, and it began to sear into her. She screamed in pain as she landed outside of the rune circle. The fire didn't calm, nor did it extinguish to an Aquamenti. She was about to pass out, when it suddenly stopped burning. She rolled onto her back, wincing as she looked at her now blackened skin. She lifted her head up, and almost screamed.

The Manor was literally SINKING into the ground! The ground was seemingly liquid, and a bright orange color. _Lava! Like those things, Volcanoes! What the hell is going on here? _Narcissa wondered as she watched her home, complete with the fifty Death Eaters stationed inside, sank into the searing earth. She began to hear the screams from within. She mercifully passed out just as the Manor completed its descent into the angry earth. In the morning, there would be no indication that Malfoy Manor had ever existed. Just a patch of black obsidian and pumas.

1-6-7-8-8-81-9-9-9-6-54-34-213-61-

( Harry)

Harry smiled as he held up the Daily Prophet, " It worked."

Snape looked dismayed as he saw that Malfoy Manor had indeed been completely destroyed. In fact, completely eradicated from the face of the earth might apply in this situation. Snape asked, " What in the hell did you do?"

" I used the Runes symbolizing Earth and Lightning, to create an adverse reaction that heated the earth. Since the runes were Blood Runes, and the sequence was repeated twenty one times around the entire manor, the spell penetrated to a depth of roughly six hundred feet. I was able to use another special reaction, Earth with its planetary symbol in Venus, to super heat it further. Essentially, I destroyed Malfoy Manor by creating a miniature Magma Hotspot under it. That caused the foundations to overheat. The Manor literally melted into the earth. Along with anyone unfortunate enough to be in it at the time."

Snape gaped, " And it took how long to prepare that?"

" Two months to teach Dobby how to use Dumbledore's Blood Pen. And one to actually write the runes. Dobby is a very good elf. Very adept at learning things. With Dobby, my defenses will be even faster. But time is of the essence. I'll start up after my classes today."

McGonagall walked by, " Speaking of your classes, I would have to ask that you actually SHOW up to them today. Rather than be off with whichever student you feel is worth your attention that is. Please show a little more restraint at Hogwarts than at HQ. It was hard to deal with walking in on you and the Slytherin girls having a threesome."

Harry laughed, remembering that time. McGonagall obviously didn't think it was funny, " While I completely understand that you are going to through the pains of being a teenager, and a teenage boy for that matter, I cannot condone your wanton sexcapades."

Harry gagged, and looked at Snape, who was just as surprised. He asked, " Did McGonagall just use the word sexcapade?"

Snape sneered, " It appears so. I didn't know that slang was part of your vocabulary, Minerva."

McGonagall huffed and hustled off. Harry laughed, " It is so much better to be able to piss her off without having to worry about her pulling house points or giving detentions. Speaking of which, can we begin full operation against the Death Eaters in the school now? I'm fairly certain that several Slytherins, especially older students, are Death Eaters. Unmarked at least. Daphne says that her sister Astoria in particular is suspect."

Snape looked at the dark haired Greengrass girl, " I can see why she would say that. They don't get along well do they?"

" Considering that Astoria was all but betrothed to Draco Malfoy before you ended his life, I wouldn't be surprised at all if she's a Death Eater. There are some other obvious answers in Slytherin. But I feel the real prizes will be in the other Houses. There are those who would have reason in all four. Of the Gryffindors who returned, I wouldn't suspect any of the ones in the Room. But, I would suspect those who are not, such as Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Everyone in Ravenclaw is open for suspicion besides Luna and Lisa. I suspect Terry Boot in particular. Hufflepuff, well, the game is up there."

Snape raised an eyebrow, " I seriously doubt a Hufflepuff would be a Death Eater."

" So do I, but that doesn't mean that one isn't. All are suspicious. These are dark times, Severus. We cannot allow the enemy to destroy us from within."

Snape laughed, " Channeling the Sorting Hat now are we?"

" Pfft, yeah right. That thing's just a lying piece of cloth that needs to be cleaned every once and awhile. Still, blindfolds aside, we need to keep our operations a secret. We never know who will be listening in. We shall code name this Operation Golden Aegis,", Harry said with a smile on his face.

A/N: Another new chapter! If it seems kind of odd that we are already approaching what Canon calls the Final Battle, then don't be disappointed. While this story probably won't end up being as long as LOTM, it should reach a decent length of between 40000-60000 words. I do intend to show Harry rebuilding the world with a new philosophy.

References

Harry attacks the Fourth Wall: Yeah he was making a joke about how in canon, the Golden Trio broke into Gringotts.

The Dark Lord Battle Numbers: Yeah, Dillys was probably exaggerating a little, but even in Canon, the Battle of Hogwarts didn't exactly feature small numbers. In fact, the Death Eaters should have won on numbers alone. So I wouldn't be surprised at all if having Two Dark Lords should also Double their forces.

Runic Abilities: Certainly some people are already familiar with the power of runes, not just from this Fiction, but also from the comedy "_**Runic Animagi"**_ so it shouldn't be overwhelming that Harry would be able to create such a reaction.

Runic Formulae

Sequence Venus ( 8) + Earth (4) + Lightning+ State Change + twenty repeats= Super heating. Enough to melt rock.

Destruction + Antimatter ( Sigma sign with a Mu symbol within) + Matter ( Sigma sign)+ State Change ( Asterisk with an Infinity symbol beneath) = State of Matter Shift. Harnesses the energy of a powerful chemical reaction.


	9. Chapter 8 Preparations

Chapter 7 Preparations are Being Made

A/N: Alright, this chapter is just absolute filler while I work on the actual battle. You can probably just skip this chapter and not actually miss anything.

" Damn it's cold,", Harry muttered to himself as he inscribed blood runes over the grounds of Hogwarts. Complicating the matter of covering the large expanse, was the time consuming process of turning his blood into something that wouldn't be washed away by rain and snow, or even the wayward student.

He knew the magic he was invoking could be considered dark, but he really didn't care, because he was a Grey Lord after all. He wasn't as powerful, in terms of pure power, as Dumbledore and Voldemort, but he certainly had more special abilities and the such to employ in his favor. He was only now beginning to discover these abilities.

However, to his displeasure, he found that most of his 'Grey Lord Specials' involved Demonic summonings and the such. Normally, he wouldn't give a damn about his public standing, but as the leader of the only faction opposing the Dark Lords, he needed people to get over their fears and join the fight. Not cower in fear of BOTH sides.

It always pissed him off how he couldn't explain to the ever stubborn populace of Britain, good or evil, that is not the magic that is evil, it is the man who is using it. Avada Kedavra can be a Light Spell if used to end a being in pain. Just as Wingardium Leviosa can be evil, by throwing someone off a tower.

He finished off the Symbol of Saturn with a flourish, and then turned to look at his handiwork. He stood up, and stretched out his back. Crouching for hours can do terrible things to a man's back.

Rings upon rings of the Symbol of Saturn, which also doubled as the Symbol for Destruction, with only a small difference, spiraled out like the rings of the Planet itself. Each glowed an eerie purple that reminded him of the Black Lights that Sirius spoke of in one of his letters. He had already drawn the connecting lines, which connected this massive circle to another not far from it.

This singular, massive circle that was almost as wide as Hogwarts itself, was the power cell to his other rings. The other circles were scattered throughout the grounds, and some were even in the Forbidden Forest. These rings were all connected by glimmering lines of runes drawn in Sorcerer's Dust and Powdered Fire. In turn, these were all connected to his Rune Pen, which he had linked to a series of Triggers in a makeshift throne room at the top of the Tallest Tower.

Harry already had a special set of robes set out for him to enchant into being his secret weapon against Voldemort and his Bro as well. These robes would be enchanted with the most powerful spells Harry knew, to not only give him a leg up in power, but stamina as well.

He wasn't pulling any punches. He knew that Voldemort still had a big advantage over him in both strategy and tactical senses. He had greater numbers, and he was still more powerful than Harry. Making things even worse, was that he had an equally evil twin brother/clone who was only recruiting even more men for their cause.

It was that twin/clone that drove Harry nuts. He'd seen all of the memories that Dumbledore had had of Riddle. This included his birth, however disgusting that had been. But he was very certain that Merope Gaunt had not given birth to twins. That meant that Marcellus was a construct created of magic to balance out Harry's own growing power. This also meant that the battle that was coming in roughly a month was going to be the deciding battle to determine who would rule the Magical World.

Taking his more cerebral, strategic, nature into account, that sort of decisive battle wasn't what necessarily wanted. Yeah, it would look great in the history books and all, but tactically, this was really stupid. He shouldn't be playing along with it at all. Yet he was. Like he had some sort of compulsion to do so.

But that didn't mean he didn't believe in weakening his enemy. He had already sabotaged several Death Eater camps with Rune explosions. Rune Reader was turning out to be an even more useful skill than he could ever have imagined when he had first learned about it back in the forest. At least he wasn't fishing around in the dark looking for Horcruxes. Ass hole or not, Ron was right back then. No plan equals no fun. Kind of like ammunition. Luckily, Harry had plenty of all three.

Dobby appeared in front of him, " Status report, Harry Potter Sir."

" Give it to me."

Dobby smiled, " Rune rings 1-50 are complete. The Ley lines are linked and Hogwarts itself is now linked. The rings are at full power, and will show the Death Eaters who is boss."

" Good, we will need to weed out their ranks for us to have a real chance in this battle. I'll not be sacrificing myself for the 'Greater Good' like Dumbledore wanted. Not today. Not in this fight. However, our defenses are still not yet complete. We need more. I'm working on creating some Golems, but they'll just be prototypes. Don't know if we'll be able to rely on them consistently in battle"

Snape chaffed, " You like the sound of your own voice don't you, eh Harry? Explaining the scheme to a House Elf."

" A House Elf who's been more faithful than even my closest friends. And he's also a Rune Reader. That alone makes him priceless. Now, on to business. My students keep bitching about how difficult my curriculum is. Can I please have permission to tell my Seventh years to shut the fuck up?"

Snape chuckled, " Now you know how I feel. Your class was terrible in that respect. You and Weasley always bitching. Longbottom couldn't tell the inside of a cauldron from the outside. Finnegan's too busy trying to get pussy and thinking he's a bigger man than he is. Thomas is too Muggle. Granger showing off like an idiot. Did I miss anyone in Gryffindor?"

" Lavender being a whore and Parvati being a gossip, but that's about it. It is absolutely terrible when Seventh and Sixth years come in. Especially Ginny. She doesn't hesitate at all about letting me know she's not happy with my choices in women. But she can just fuck off for all I care. Too much baggage now that I think about it. Ginny likes to be 'dominant' as Dean said. Sorry but I like my women a little more submissive."

Snape chuckled, " I will take back everything I ever said about you being like your father. You don't like red-heads. You don't like fiery women. You love power. Hell, you like blondes, and no Potter has ever married a blonde. Ever. Are you even sure you are a Potter?"

" Last time I checked I was. I can't help being different from my ancestors. I've been meaning to ask, but is it really true that, despite our noble heritage, that every Potter has been an Auror since the Auror corps was founded?"

Snape looked thoughtful, " I remember Dumbledore saying something about that. He said, ' Harry will likely end up being an Auror just like every Potter before him. And that's why he'll be such a great soldier.' To that effect at any rate."

Harry laughed, " Such a manipulative bastard while alive wasn't he? At least, he's repented some. Without this Rune Reader ability, who knows how much more difficult this could truly be?"

" Likely very difficult. By the way, Charlie reports that he has reinforcements for us to use in the upcoming battle."

Harry smirked, " Excellent. We will need everything we can get, if our intelligence is any indication. How they hell did the Dark Lords find three thousand men?"

Snape sneered, " Money can persuade even the staunchest men, Harry. I've seen it done. Though, I don't even think Mercenaries can account for this many men. Does it include auxiliaries and irregular troops like Giants and dark creatures?"

Harry shook his head, " Nope. We can only assume that his numbers will be even greater with their additions. Getting reinforcements from anyone is more than we can hope for at this time. We are in a siege despite the lack of an enemy. This is our Helm's Deep, our Siege of Gondor, Severus . Our best and brightest will be arriving shortly, but there will be no Haldir with reinforcements from Lorien to save us here."

Snape frowned, " Cut out the LOTR analogies, however fitting to our situation they are. Who are these men who will be joining us anyway? New recruits?"

Harry laughed, " I wouldn't call them new. More like, returning from distant shores. Dumbledore had some contacts with some former Order members who went to America after the last war ended because they were pissed at how the Ministry handled the Post-War period. They are led by a man named Johnny Earle, an American who moved to Britain after Vietnam. He's a veteran. "

Snape scowled, " Great, Americans coming to our aid. How…typical. The Great War 2 all over again. Arrogant bastards the lot of them, and I'm betting this one isn't any different."

Harry berated Snape, " Back off Snape. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth anyway, he seems like a good guy. Either way, we need all the help we can get, no matter where it comes from. Now, help me finish up these Circles, and we can call it a day?"

" Yeah, let's do that? My back's starting to kill me."

( Somewhere out in Space)

The Spirit of Salazar Slytherin sat in the massive crowd of spirits, as usual. He was watching the events unfolding with a slight smile. Despite the disapproving glares he was getting from the Gryffindor crowd, he was genuinely pleased with what was going on. Potter was turning the coming Battle of Hogwarts into the decisive battle that would determine the fate of the world.

Dumbledore scowled at Salazar, " This still goes against all the plans anyone has made for this world."

" Dumbledore, how many times do we have to tell you? Humans are not pawns to be used and then thrown away. "

The Dumbledore loving crowd hissed at Salazar's dismissal of Dumbledore. Oblivious as ever, the Watcher simply stared off into the distant stars. His eerie golden eyes glimmered from beneath his obsidian armor. But in reality, he was smiling. The time was coming for the battles to begin. Those battles that would consume the world would soon begin.

Salazar, meanwhile, was complaining, " Why won't Potter use his Summoning abilities? They are what gives him the edge! This Rune Reader skill is useful, but it will not win the battle for him."

The Watcher added his piece, " Potter may be more aggressive than before, but he is still not ruthless. He is thinking. I'm impressed by that alone."

( Harry…a Few days Later)

" Mr. Potter, I am retired Captain John Earle. You can just call me Johnny though. "

Harry shook the man's hand, " It is nice to meet you, Former Captain Earle. Your help is most appreciated in the coming fights. I must warn you though, nothing you see must faze you in anyway."

Earle frowned, " I've seen Korea and Vietnam, Mr. Potter. There isn't much you can do to get past those two."

Harry nodded, " Very well. Now, how accomplished are you as a duelist?"

" Very. I've lived on the Dueling Circuits after I left the Military. However, I should hope that you would use these men in a good way. They are all that is left of the American Branch of the Order of the Phoenix. "

There was about seventy members. Harry didn't want to tell Earle that the American Branch had over double the amount of the Original Branch at this time.

With that, the remaining time between now, and the supposed Final fight began to run short. Harry knew that he wasn't going to be getting anymore troops. Not from anywhere. But he was happy with that. Because he had his Rune Reading. And he had his Rune Circles. With them, Hogwarts would never fall.

But the fight was not going to be easy. Not by a long shot. The Dawn of Solace came soon.

A/N: Alright, I didn't exactly describe the preparations that were made very well. I admit this. But, the final battles, yes plural, will be enough I think to make up for it. Also, the Final Battle will have a Real Name. Not the generic Final Battle.

Johnny Earle: A reference to the song " Johnny Come Lately,", by Steve Earle. It's a song about the various wars since World War 2, though mostly about Vietnam.

The Final Battle Stage 1: I've found that it is almost impossible to write Large Scale, Wand Only, Magical Battles without them becoming clones of the somewhat anti-climatic Canon Fight, which was mostly comprised of 2V2, 1V1, 3-5V1 skirmishes, with tragedy ( Fred's Death), comedy ( Ron joking about the House Elves fighting), Desperation ( Harry finally realizing his destiny), and Romance ( Ron/Hermione, Ginny/Harry are finally recognized in their final forms) mixed in.


	10. Chapter 10 Seven Angels Part 1

Chapter 10 The Battle of the Seven Angels: The Dawn of Solace

A/N: The Battle Begins now….

"_ Once I had been lost, in what they told me to believe. Until I found it burning deep inside, to set my spirit free…" _The Seven Angels, Avantasia, The Metal Opera Part 2

_" Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt" _ Sun Tzu.

The day of May 5th dawned like any other. It was quiet in the morning. But there was something different. Silence hung in the air like a heavy blade ready to slice through a man. Break his conscious into pieces as even the birds feared to chirp. Harry noticed that even the wind was calm.

But he knew that would all change by sundown. That, by sundown that day, those beautiful grounds that he both loved and hated would be crawling with Death Eater scum, Giants, Acromantulas, and God only knows whatever other random Dark Creatures the Voldy Twins would drag out of the sewers to fight him. Harry saw his glimmering Rune Circles, many of them intersecting and the such because of their huge sizes, lying in wait for his signal to detonate.

These Rune Circles formed the primary lines of defense for the Order Forces. Combined with the American Drag-Ins that Harry had found, the other Order Members had managed to scrounge together fifty more men. So that meant they had somewhere between 120 and 140 men. Still not that impressive when faced with several thousand. However, if it came down to it, Harry could level those odds. He just didn't want it to come down to that.

Last night, he had had a very strange dream, where a man with golden eyes, dressed completely in ebon black armor had come to him. He had instructed Harry on the best ways to win the coming battles. However, he had also detailed what Harry's truest Grey Lord Powers were. That they were what set him different from Light and Dark Lords.

His Summoning abilities were just the tip of the Iceberg when it came down to it. Much as his runes could summon powerful phenomena, so could his Summoning. The ability to summon a Meteor, or a giant blast of energy would come in handy if they began to be overwhelmed. However, the sacrifice needed to use such abilities might be too much.

He lay the special battle robes he had acquired months ago, out on his bed. The robes were a crimson red, though not by default. This was because they were coated in blood runes that were designed to enhance his abilities. His Wolf's Head insignia was emblazoned upon the cloak. It was the only part of the outfit not rimmed with blood runes.

Snape walked into the room with a sneer on his face. He said sullenly, " I guess you know that it is time for me to hand over the Elder wand?"

Harry, anticipating this, triggered a Rune Prison trap on the door, and snared Snape. Snape cursed as Harry walked over and simply pulled the Elder wand from his robes. Harry shook his head at the somewhat impressed former Potions teacher.

He released the Rune Prison, and Snape immediately accused him of cheating, " It said a duel! Nothing about imprisoning and robbing me!"

" I beg to differ. Ownership of the Elder wand transfers when its master is defeated. It does not specify 'how' as being important. And did you really expect ME to duel you?" Harry asked with an arrogant smile, " Especially on the eve of the Greatest Battle of Our Time?"

" I thought I told you to cut out the LOTR analogies,", Snape replied testily, while dusting his robes off. Harry brushed off Snape's complaint with a snort. Harry turned, instead, to a more important subject, " How many students have been evacuated?"

" Everyone from Years One and Two. It'll take the greater part of the day to remove everyone from Years Three to Five. We are allowing anyone in Years Six and Seven to stand and fight if they so choose. There have been a surprising amount who have taken that option, as well as some returning members to bolster our numbers. We estimate that our numbers have now swollen to roughly 400 members."

Harry nodded in silence as he began to ponder troop positions and the such. Most of his planning was already done, and relied heavily on his Rune Circles removing the majority of the enemy forces. Yet, he was still trying to figure out where to place his men if they broke through. He had the six functional Hogwarts to Hogsmeade passages filled. He had Fred and George in charge of placing the others.

There was still the issue of the Vanishing Cabinet that was in the Room of Requirement. Harry trusted that Snape and the others had figured out how to disable that thing, but he could never be entirely sure. Then, he also had to take into the account that there just might be advance forces coming to test them early. Thus, he had Lupin and the more veteran Order members patrolling the ground in large teams. Combined with the American Order members, they were of large enough numbers to adequately perform this task without worrying about getting picked off one by one. Not that the Death Eaters would ever actually use that strategy. They'd probably just rush in like idiots.

Harry folded his plans up, and began to move toward the Astronomy Tower. There, would be his Throne for this battle. A Grey Throne to fight the Dark Lords. He snickered at the very idea of confronting the Dark Lords in traditional, army based combat. Six months ago, he was trudging through the Ministry trying to get the Locket from Umbridge. Six months ago, he was doing all he could to keep from being detected and trying to hold off any confrontation he might have with the Dark Idiot. But now, he was the leader of an Army of Light. He was a Grey Lord, created to balance out the differential of power between the Darkness and the Light in the eyes of Magic Itself. A Commander who would fight this coming darkness with the power that was vested within him. A warrior with no unique talent, only a specialization, his own high power, and his courage. Time would tell whether he would succeed or not.

( Evening)

The Forbidden Forest could sense it. The Centaurs within fled their grounds, abandoning their pride. They would not fight in this war. To them, the ominous alignment of Pluto, Saturn, Mars, Earth, and the Sun meant the end of time was coming. And it was coming quick as well. The normally brash Bane took what remained of his heard, and retreated into the deepest recesses of the Forest that no man ever saw. He would never be heard from again. After this battle, Centaurs would never be seen again, not even in places like Greece, where they actively socialized with humans.

Harry Potter took his last meal before the battle was to begin. He did so whilst sitting at the Headmaster's Chair at the High Table in the Great Hall. That alone was a statement as to who was the leader. The Students who knew Harry were surprised to see him sitting there, in open declaration of his responsibility. Some, like Oliver Wood, remembered the shy kid who never wanted to take up his mantle, even though he drew followers to himself like honey does flies on a hot summer's day. Others, like Neville Longbottom, believed it to be a declaration of his power, likening it to when he led the Ministry Six into the Department of Mysteries to save his Godfather.

All the same, this was a different Harry Potter than anyone was used to. He finished his meal, and stood up when everyone else did the same. He took a deep breath, and began his speech:

" Friends, we've gathered here today to brace ourselves against the assault of the Darkness against this great bulwark of Light. Never once has this castle fallen to the Darkness. It will not fall under my watch! We will not lose this place!

Now, it is not my place to slander our enemy, and tell you how much better you are than they. But, I shall tell you this! The First Year Muggleborn who came here on September the First knows more magic than most of these Death Eaters, and I dare say they can fight better as well! Can I ask you to fight as well? Can I ask you to fight against these fools as well? And fight well?"

" Yes Milord!" the Purebloods in the room chanted, while the muggleborns simply nodded.

"Many of us have lost people dear to us in this war. This scatterbrained war started by a fool who simply wants to take over the world. But isn't that the goal of all conquerors? To remake the world in their image? History is, after all, written by the victor. Would you have our truths be erased and replaced by their lie? Would you allow them to destroy all that we have built? To tear it down and bury it beneath the lies of the enemy? To cover all that we stood for, to cover all that we fought for, beneath the lies and deceit of corrupt men? Would you allow that to happen?"

" NO!" the crowd universally bellowed back.

" Then you shall NOT allow it to happen! We will not let Voldemort prevail against us! No matter what he brings, no matter what comes crawling out of the Forest to fight alongside of him, no matter what crazed magical construct he may have with him, we will prevail! We will have victory! No matter the cost!"

Harry threw his clenched fist into the air, " TO WAR! TO VICTORY!"

" All Hail Lord Potter! All Hail the Light! All Hail in the name of Victory!" the Crowd shouted loud enough to scare Peeves on the Ninth Floor and wake up Sir Cadogan.

Meanwhile, Snape whispered to Harry, " Was it wise to stir them up like this?"

" Hey, we've got nothing but our lives to lose right? Mirai Shinjite* eh?" Harry muttered back.

Shortly thereafter, he stood back up, " Everyone! To battle stations now! McGonagall and Flitwick will activate the Innate Defenses of the school. Everyone else, to your assigned stations. Keep your squad together. Do not get isolated. Stragglers are always the first ones killed."

( Outside)

" Brother, do you think they have prepared for us?"

Voldemort looked at his magical twin, " Knowing Potter, probably not. The most they've probably prepared is fifty men and the school's natural defenses. We should just rush them."

Marcellus scowled at his brother, " That will just get us all killed. We're not immortal, not yet anyway."

" There's no wizard who can kill us, brother."

" A dagger in the back kills just as effectively as an Avada Kedavra in the face,", Marcellus replied tersely.

The Dark Army marched forth. Unknowingly, they tripped one of Harry's Alarms. Up on top of the Astronomy Tower, Harry James Potter smirked. He pressed a small button on his throne and waited. He shouted, " Time to Unchain the Rain."

Voldemort looked at the ground beneath him. He saw tiny little lines running across them, but paid no heed. He had his men continue to march forward. His brother shouted, " Voldemort! Behind us!"

A massive wave of water came rushing out of nowhere and slammed into his vanguard. Voldemort was washed off himself. When the water seeped away, he noticed that half of his vanguard was drowned. Voldemort cursed while Marcellus shouted, " I told you to be careful! Now, dry off before something worse happens."

No sooner did Voldemort dry off, did another trap trigger behind him. A massive bolt of lightning came flying out of the sky, and struck right in the center of his troops. Voldemort cursed as Bellatrix counted off full to three hundred casualties between the Lightning strike and the Tidal wave. He hissed, " There's no clouds in the sky, and the Lake is OVER THERE!"

Marcellus muttered, " Perhaps we have underestimated Potter? He's definitely prepared for us."

Voldemort shouted, " No matter! We shall exhaust his traps by slamming our troops home!"

( On the Highest Tower)

Harry watched Voldemort ordering his troops to prepare suicide charges against his traps with great amusement. If he was going to play like that, then Harry was just going to slaughter his troops, wave by wave.

Harry watched as a Blizzard Trap engulfed yet another wave of Voldemort's men, freezing them solid. Harry then activated his Hammer of the Creator spell. Said spell super imposed gravity on an area, raising it to be hundreds of times greater than normally on Earth. The massive ice formation instantly shattered and collapsed into the earth. Harry deactivated the spell when fissures began to run from the area around it. He would save the giant sinkhole for later.

He watched as Voldemort began to send troops around the lake. Harry then triggered a spell he amusingly called " Release the Kraken!" It's effect was its name really. A spell that triggered a reaction within the mind of the Giant Squid, sending it into a rage that brought memories of Tolkien's Watcher in the Water. And the Kraken, of course. It was highly amusing to watch the Death Eaters scramble like chickens without heads to get out of the rampaging Squid's way. Dozens were pulled into the water, where the Mermen finished the job. Harry had found that the spell had a similar effect on the Merpeople as well. Turned them quite violent indeed.

More Death Eaters entered another Killing Zone, so Harry activated a Glacial Spell, freezing them solid. He caught another squadron wandering near the forest with a Spike trap. Death Eaters were falling left and right. He smiled at the bloodshed he was creating amidst the enemy ranks. No doubt, Voldemort was complaining to his brother about that ' Arrogant Bastard' but that only made Harry laugh more.

Finally, Voldemort must have had enough, because he decided to send in the Wave. Giants, Werewolves, Vampires, and a whole bunch of other unsavory types of creatures came streaming in, supported by The Death Eaters. It looked like the reports were not exaggerating. If anything, they didn't give the Volde Bros credit. There were more than three thousand here! They were stretching all across the grounds.

Harry began triggering traps left and right. Balls of fire leapt into life, blazing through the Death Army. Lightning crashed out of the clear blue sky. Solid ground turned to ice, when suddenly slid into pools of poison. Spike traps leapt up out of the ground and impaled Death Eaters who ran across them. Hundreds died, but still more poured forward.

_This is bad,_ Harry thought, _I prepared for three thousand, and I also have my secret weapon. But I can't use it now! Not when I don't know if Voldemort and his brother are in the Circles or not. Voldemort doesn't lead from the front. He only appears when his victory is assured. In short, he never plays unless he is sure he cannot be defeated. I will need to take advantage of that._

Harry watched as his months of hard work were being put to use, but said use was not enough. He had staked a lot on those traps, but they were not proving as effective as he thought they would. Yes, they slaughtered hundreds of Death Eaters and brought down hordes of Dark Creatures. But, they were not destroying enough of the enemy to prevent them from over running the paltry force he had by comparison. If he couldn't remove more, then he would have to start Summoning, and moving into One Vs One combat.

He scowled as some of the Death Eaters came into range of his Arrow Traps on the walls. He activated them, and watched as the bee swarm tore through their ranks, but it still wasn't enough. Lupin contacted him with a Patronus, " Harry, they're getting close. We've moved everyone to the Entrance Hall. Awaiting command."

Harry sent his Stag back with the message, " Have all units engage from windows. Aim to kill. Do not wait for them to breach. Have all units monitoring the passageways go on High Alert. Notify me IMMEDIATELY if a passage is breached."

Harry sank back on his makeshift throne as he began to trigger his remaining traps. He grabbed his special Trigger. The one that wouldn't be activated unless it got out of hand. Unless it was the worst case scenario. He stood up, slung his red and grey cloak on, and began to walk down to the main gathering.

But that's when all hell broke loose. Harry was thrown to the ground by the force of a magical explosion on the West Wing. After the ground stopped shaking, he got up and looked out of the nearest window. He gasped as the entire West section of the Castle was ablaze. Death Eaters and assorted Dark Creatures began to flood the flaming wing.

" Boy, that went to hell in a hand basket didn't it?"

A/Ns: The Final Battle, or the Battle of the Seven Angels, is split into the three separate sections. This was simply the Initiation. Next will be the Siege and the final section is Last Stand. We are approaching the end here.

Rune Circles Used: Spike Traps, World Shaker, Glacier, Release the Kraken, Fulminous Blast, and Shine Prism. All used multiple times.


	11. Chapter 11 Seven Angels Part 2

Chapter 10: The Battle of the Seven Angels Part 2: Your World On Fire

( With Lupin)

" Kingsley! Get as many men over here as possible! I'll form the rearguard as you fall back towards a more easily defensible area of the castle!"

Lupin fired Stunners at the errant Death Eaters entering his path. He looked around, and saw that they had taken some casualties from the explosion of the West Wing. Arthur came limping up. His left arm was blackened from the fire, and his left leg looked like it had been crushed by a falling bolder. He shouted, " Lupin! I'm Wounded in Action! I…I think I'm done for now! Where are the medics?"

" Pomfrey has a makeshift medical station set up on the Sixth Floor! Harry ordered the Field Center to be set up farther away from the fighting to prevent the wounded from being attacked, " Lupin directed, though he seriously doubted Arthur would be able to walk up from the First Floor.

Ron noticed his father's wounds, and hit him with a Levitation charm. " Lupin! I'll get him up there, you guys just cover me!"

Lupin nodded, and gave the hand signals for his men to recover whatever wounded he could. Johnny Earle came next. He handed Lupin a sheet of paper. Remus frowned when he saw it. The West Wing was being overrun, and there was nothing they could do to recover anyone from over there. Earle was now reforming the lines to cover both the West Flank, and the Central Flank.

Suddenly, green lights filled the hall. Lupin summoned some vases that were lying in the hall to block them, but others weren't so lucky. He saw Hestia Jones go down, never to rise again. Lupin ordered, " Everyone! Get ready! On my mark, return fire! One! Two! Three…Now! Avada Kedavra!"

Twenty green flashes of their own returned the fire. Twenty Death eaters fell down to the curses. Lupin began snapping his spells together into chains, firing at an insane pace. He launched stunners, knockbacks, anything he could think of at the surging tides of Death Eaters advancing in from the West Wing. He rolled to avoid several Killing Curses, firing off his own in retaliation. He rose up from his roll, and fired an Explosion hex at the ground in front of a tight cluster of enemies. The ground exploded, throwing them into the nearby walls at fatal angles.

Grinding his teeth, Lupin made a beeline for the Stairs. He shot up his Wolf Patronus, signaling for everyone to rally around him. Unfortunately, that also marked him to the Death Eaters, forty of which decided it was time for him to die. Luckily, their aim sucked, and he only had to block one of the resulting Killing Curses with a piece of rubble.

Lupin turned his head back and shouted, " We need to pull back! Get everyone up to the second floor!"

A voice sounded, " I agree with that sentiment, Remus. Let's go." Snape came running up with what could be called his 'Battle Sneer' going full force. Snape twirled the Elder Wand in an elaborate motion, casting an Area Effect Ice Spear spell. A dozen of the advancing Death Eaters fell, pierced by the sharpened spears. Snape ran up the stairs, and followed Lupin, as well as the rest of the remaining fighters, into the Second Floor.

The Second floor, aesthetically, was in better shape than the first floor. But structurally, it was in far worse shape. In fact, Lupin immediately regretted his decision to bring everyone up here when he saw the floor collapse under Fleur's feet, and she fell with a scream to what he supposed would be her death. Bill howled in anger, but was restrained by his brothers when he made to charge down the stairs.

Lupin shouted, " Now is not the time to mourn! Mourn for our comrades later! But now, we shall remember their sacrifice by spilling the blood of our enemies!" He emphasized his speech by firing a Cutting curse and slicing off the head of the first Death Eater who climbed the stairs. Snape smiled in response, " Gladly!"

The Defenders of Hogwarts continued to give the Death Eaters hell. But more and more were pouring in.

( Harry)

Harry rubbed his head as he got up from the floor. He was pretty sure he lost consciousness there for a moment. He drew his Holly Wand, and sent a Patronus message that he was fine. He walked to the nearest window. The situation was deteriorating. He pulled out his Rune Pen, and began to prepare the sequence for one of his Ultimate Runes. The Mirrors of Copernicus.

He hastily drew the runes symbolizing the Sun in an ancient language from a different world when the castle again shook with a blast of energy. Harry began to chant, "I can it now. Like a million suns aligned, as they pierce the darkest night, when all hope is gone and lost. I can see it now, like a million suns aligned."

He began to write out, "When I was a child, I had the strangest dream. A thousand mirrors all reflecting the same beam. Now I'm at this cross road. The Light will be my guide!"

A shaft of light began to emit from the highest tower of Hogwarts, where he had drawn the first Mirror Circle. He began to trigger the others. A thousand rune circles began to flare into life. Harry laughed as the beam of light began to reflect off of each of the Rune Mirrors made by the circles. The very air itself began to crackle with energy. He looked out the window, and saw what he was looking for. The light from the reflecting mirrors was beginning to coalesce into a massive blast of light that was now hovering over the castle. In moments, that ball of light would crash down upon the castle, and destroy all he deemed an enemy within its effective range.

"You better wish for a miracle, Volde Twins."

( Voldemort)

Unfortunately for Harry, Voldemort and his brother were standing outside the edge of the Mirror's Range, and Marcellus recognized the spell. He sputtered, "The Mirrors of Copernicus? I never thought I would ever see that spell enacted in my lifetime."

Voldemort raised an eyebrow at the magical clone of his younger self, "What the hell is the Mirror of Copernicus?"

"You don't know?" Marcellus asked with a similar expression, "The Mirrors of Copernicus is one of the ultimate Light Magic Spells. It's vastly powerful, capable of completely eradicating entire armies in one attack. Grindelwald used it to stop the American Magical Army during Operation Market Garden. At Arnheim, in fact."

"You're telling me that my PREDECESSOR used one of the most powerful LIGHT spells in existence to stop his enemies?"

Marcellus scowled, "It isn't the spell or elemental affinity that makes something light or dark. It is the intent of the user. The spell is exceedingly powerful, it will target all units that the caster views as an enemy. In other words…."

"Potter's about to kill three thousand men, one hundred giants, and several hundred Acromentulas with one spell. Boy, he really IS just like me!"

Marcellus laughed, "I don't know about that, brother. Nonetheless, we had better bring up our reinforcements. We're going to need them."

Marcellus had just sent off his Basilisk Patronus Messenger when the ball of light hover over the castle exploded.

(Harry)

Harry had the sense to close his eyes just as the blast exploded. But even with his hands over his eyes, he could still see the blinding white light. He felt himself being lifted up off his feet and slammed into a wall from the shockwave. After several moments, the blast began to fade away.

Harry kept his eyes closed and listened closely. The sounds of battle had faded entirely. There was an eerie silence encroaching the battlefield now. The silence was stiffening, it was hot, it was oppressive. Something just told Harry that the battle was nowhere near over yet. Voldemort wasn't one to join the battle without the assurance that he would win. In the distance, he heard the roar of dragons, and something told him that these dragons were not on his side.

Harry made his way down to where his men were making their stand. The Third Floor was a mess. Bodies of both friend and foe, though significantly more foes, were scattered throughout the corridors. He found himself trying not to slip on the blood from some of the more vicious deaths. But many more were simply burned. Burnt from the might of the Mirrors.

Harry finally came across his men. Snape sneered at him, "Potter! What the hell did you just do? Was that really…."

"The Mirrors of Copernicus? Yeah. I ran across the formula to make it work when I was scanning through the back of Rune Reader. " Harry replied, nonplused at Snape's incredulous sneer.

"But that's one of the most powerful Light Spells known. Even Dumbledore couldn't cast it with the Runes. How in the hell did you do it?"

Harry winked at the batty professor, "A magician never reveals his tricks. And as a hint, that's not the last thing I have in store for this battle either. Now, we must begin to fortify ourselves. The Second Wave will not be far off, and I'm pretty sure that isn't Charlie coming with those dragons."

Lupin hobbled up, "So you heard it to, huh? Yeah, that's bad news. I think he's sending the Werewolves and Vamps with this wave. Any bright ideas?"

"We will retreat to the deepest sanctum of this castle, and make our stand there. I have a few more surprises left for Volde and his bro, but I will need time to initiate them. Deep inside of the school, I have built a secret Sanctum. Voldemort and his men will never be able to breach it, as its defenses are more solid than the Room of Requirement's defense. So, let us go men. Forward unto destiny!"

(Deep Within Hogwarts)

"Bloody hell, Harry, what is this place? Its below even the Chamber of Secrets!" Ron muttered in awe as the remaining one hundred men filtered into the crystalline halls of Harry's Sanctum. The Sanctum itself was a soft blue color, as everything seemed to be made of sapphire crystal. Harry explained that this completely true. The runes were able to easily transmute rudimentary rocks and stones into the valuable gemstone. This gemstone, combined by the large amounts of rubies on his new Battle Robes, would help fuel his most powerful Rune Circle. He didn't tell that part to them.

The Sanctum was designed as a ritual room, but that was only part of its job. There was enough food to last them several months in a siege. There was housing for everyone. But everyone's eyes were drawn to the massive set of doors on the other side that led nowhere. Each door had a series of runes written across the doors.

Hermione ran her hand on the sapphire surface that was gleaming with runes, "Wow Harry, I didn't know you were capable of this. This is completely impossible according to most textbooks."

Harry muttered in response, "I make a habit of the impossible. I built this place because it was detailed in my dreams by the Watcher. He told me what I should do, should the battle become unwinnable. I can summon him. And he will come for us. I've found that the spirits of the dead despise Voldemort as much as the living do. Especially Voldemort's own ancestor, Salazar Slytherin."

Snape laughed, "Boy I bet that would be an interesting wakeup for the Dark Lord."

"Exactly. However, Voldemort's brother doesn't technically exist. Marcellus, isn't really Voldemort's brother. He is an ancient wizard who took the opportunity to latch on to Voldemort's Soul. Using Voldemort, he was able to create a body for himself, modeled off of Tom's own body. Who this ancient wizard is, I do not know. If what the dreams have told me is true, he may not even be of our world."

Hermione scoffed at him, "Harry, not trying to downplay you or anything, but this whole dreams thing is sounding awfully strange to me."

Ron looked at her, "Awfully strange? It sounds like the biggest load of bollocks I've ever heard in my life. How do you even know this stuff is true?"

"I don't, that's the point. Which is why I intend to attempt the ritual. But not now. The situation is desperate, but not enough to warrant such extreme measures."

Lupin simply commented, "If our situation isn't desperate, then I don't know what is."

* * *

A/N: So ends Stage 2 of the Battle. I promised way back in Chapter 5 that the Watcher would become more involved, and who he is will be revealed. Well, guess what, that's next chapter. Oh, same with Marcellus.

Grammar note: I'm aware of my bad habit of putting spaces after " marks and parenthesis.

The Mirrors of Copernicus: Is not an original idea for this story alone. I originally came up with it for a defunct fiction called Farseer's Revenge. The incantation and chant for the Mirrors comes from the song _"Copernicus"_ by Russell Allen and Jorn Lande.

Formula for the Mirrors: 10 Chains of the Solar Rune + 2 Chains of Reflection Runes + 1 Chain Intention Rune. Repeat one thousand times over very large area for maximum effect.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 The Battle of Seven Angels Part 3: The Watcher

_"So, quiet as despair, I turned from him,_

_That hateful cripple, out of his highway,_

_Into the path he pointed. All the day,_

_Had been a dreary one at best, and dim_

_Was settling to its close, yet shot one grim,_

_Red leer to see the plain catch its estray." _

…."Childe Roland To the Dark Tower Came" Robert Browning. From page 835 of " The Dark Tower 7: The Dark Tower" By Stephen King.

" My friends, we have been stuck in this Sanctum for nearly a month now, with Voldemort pounding away at us. I've triggered all of my traps, except for my suicide Detonator, and I don't think you guys want that. Now, I have one option left."

The entire room knew what that option was. Harry was going to enact the ritual to summon the Watcher. They all turned to the massive Runic doors on the far side of the Sanctum. Harry had instructed them on the very first day of the siege to never attempt to enter that room. He had very good reason not to allow them in.

Harry took the five books that he had acquired when he had first become a Rune Reader. The Book of Life hummed as he approached the doors. Harry spoke, "_**Those who have come here to hate should leave now, for they shall betray only themselves in their hatred!"**_

He flipped open the Book of Death, and laid it across from the Book of Life, shouting, **"**_**All things exist in a cycle of life and death. It is inevitable that that which lives, will surely die. The Cycle of Life and Death continues. We will live, and they shall die!"**_

He took the Book of Change and set it perpendicular to the previous two, "_**Change is the Way of Life. Without it, all life shall cease, and there shalt be no change, for Life is the embodiment of Change, and Death is the ceasing of Change. Yet Death is but a beginning."**_

He opened the Book of Conjuration, and sat it across from the Book of Change, "_**For thee milord, we shall be. I conjure you. I summon you. I call forth Vigilence!"**_

Finally, he placed the Book of Destruction in the middle of all the other four, _**"A broken light shines at the end of man. Stare into the abyss and allow the abyss to stare into you. Come forth, destruction, and rain death down upon our enemies. Come forth Darkness, and fight the light! Come forth Light and fight the Darkness!"**_

The doors emitted a blast of golden light. Slowly, the doors began to creak open. A blaze of light engulfed Harry and pulled him into the room.

(Inside the Unknown)

Harry woke up laying upon a field of roses. A single path stretched forward, a single path forged from the fields of roses. In the distance, a red sun was hanging low. The sky wasn't blue. It was a dusky grayish color that made Harry think that something ominous was about to happen. That was when he saw a man walking along the road.

Harry was about to hail the man and walk the road himself, but a voice whispered in his ear, "Do not interfere, Harry. That man has a task that he must complete."

"A task? Like my own?"

"Very much so, actually. Only, he is doomed to repeat his task over and over again."

Harry watched the man approach a massive spire in the distance, "What is that?"

"The crux upon which all of creation is built. That, is the Tower of Creation, Mr. Potter, and this is the End Of The World. It is unfortunate, but I couldn't exactly meet you in the Spirit World now could I?"

Harry cocked an eyebrow as the man entered the tower, "So you're the Watcher? Where are you?"

"I am all around you, and yet not present at all. I am what you might call fate. I watch the skeins of fate, and determine the actions best suited for them. I've answered your call."

A tall man began to materialize in front of Harry. He was wearing ebon black armor, and had glittering golden eyes. He had long, brown hair that somehow reminded Harry of Hermione's hair. In one hand, he had the ubiquitous helmet that had so obscured his appearance during the dreams. His face was stern set, a glare seemed to be etched permanently upon it. He had a solid black cloak, but the cloak had a grey wolf's head on the back. He extended his hand in greeting, "I am the Watcher, and my name is Dorian."

"D-Dorian? That's a bit of an odd name." Harry remarked casually, not surprised at all to see the gleaming eyes harden slightly, as though irritated.

He replied, "My name is not chosen by me, that is all I shall say on the topic."

"So, what is that man doing?"

"He's going to climb the tower, isn't that obvious?" Answered the Watcher with a slight smirk.

"What would happen if I climbed the Tower?"

"Nothing. In fact, you wouldn't even be able to enter the Tower. Only he can enter that Tower. It is his fate to climb that Tower. His fate alone. None else can enter that Tower. The Tower is built for him and him alone. Inside are horrors from his life, and his alone. There is no purpose for you or anyone else to even wonder what is in that Tower." Dorian replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

"So, why is it important?"

Dorian laughed, "Mr. Potter, the only reason I brought you here is because living beings cannot enter the Land of the Dead. Well, save for one, but he is a destined one who will change the universe. Otherwise, this place is completely irrelevant. Do try to ignore this place if you would. I mean, is a field of roses and a massive black tower that out of the ordinary?"

Harry chuckled slightly, "Where I'm from, yes."

"Is that so? Oh well, I suppose that doesn't matter. Well, Mr. Potter, I don't know what you may have expected when you did that ritual, but I hope I shall suffice." Dorian said, hefting a large, halberd like staff. A vicious axe blade was attached to the top of the staff, and it was an evil looking black and red. He laughed at Harry's face, "No worries Harry, this Earth Shaker will not be destroying your world today. That is a fate reserved only for those the Creator deems irredeemable."

Harry nodded his head in understanding, "The Creator deems irredeemable. Then I guess my world is safe?"

"Unless you die, of course. We've gone through a lot of trouble out in the Land of the Dead to make sure you could actually fight Voldemort, and not die in the process. Believe it or not, there were some surprising people who opposed us allowing you the Power."

Harry scratched his chin, "Like who? Besides Dumbledore that is."

"Your parents for one." The Watcher revealed much to Harry's surprise. He exclaimed, "Wh-What? Why would my own parents oppose you giving me power?"

"Because, by giving you the power of the Grey Lord, we've irrevocably changed your destiny. Of course, Salazar and Sirius argued that you had already changed your destiny when you let Hermione walk off with Ron. The Skeins of Fate said that she was supposed to stay with you, and then you two would solve your problems with Ron. Eventually, both of you would marry a Weasley, and everyone would live happily ever after. Except those who were destined to die, like Lupin, Tonks, Fred, and others. By changing you, we've changed the fate of the world." The Watcher explained with a grin.

Harry raised an eyebrow, " I guess this is an example of what you might call the Butterfly effect then?"

"Good analysis. Dumbledore had known that you were in possession of a Horcrux. That you were one, and he never really did anything about it. He knew you had to die to defeat Voldemort. But, he was able to discover the Restoration Ritual, and using it, he saved you from that fate. Inadvertently, he had also changed fate in that manner."

Harry asked, "So, what does this all boil down to?"

The Watcher smirked, "Why, what is your whim, Mr. Potter? You've got a big decision to make after this battle. Will you rule the world? Or destroy it? Only you can choose."

Harry smirked evilly, "I can understand. After today, I shall be the only Wizard Lord still alive. But the world? Surely you jest."

"Fate is known for its humor, but I am it's Watcher, and I am not known for my humor. I do not joke. As our universe is doomed to millennia of endless wars by our very Creators, I do not joke at all. The wars are already beginning to start in the center, where the barriers are weakest. This is why I have come. The wars will come, and your world will need a leader. Will you accept this mantle?"

Harry nodded, "I shall."

"Good." The Watcher said confidently, as he placed his helmet on, "Now, let us go to your world. And join the battle!"

(Outside)

Voldemort stood next to Marcellus, who was gazing at Hogwarts. Following the advice of his brother, he had not moved his troops in for the kill. According to Marcellus, Potter might possibly still have another massive attack to launch against him if he himself moved in. Suddenly, Marcellus flinched visibly. Voldemort asked, "What's wrong, brother?"

Marcellus narrowed his red eyes, "He comes."

"Who comes?"

"The Watcher comes." Marcellus answered cryptically, drawing a look of confusion from Voldemort. "The Watcher?"

"The Watcher is an entity that watches over the worlds, protecting them from certain other entities. His influence is not always beneficial to worlds, and he has been known to destroy worlds from time to time." Answered Marcellus.

Voldemort sneered, "I'm guessing this Watcher is powerful?"

Marcellus grew angry, "Of course he's powerful! Haven't you been listening to me? I begin to wonder why I put up with you. You're supposed to be a brilliant leader, but you just seem to be an idiot with a fetish for torturing and killing."

Now it was Voldemort's turn to grow angry, "What was that? I'm the one who created this army of Death Eaters…"

Marcellus cut him off, "That is irrelevant. Look what it's gotten you! Nothing! A reign of terror that the Wizards alive shouldn't even respect! You aren't like Grindelwald at all, even for someone who supposedly learned his lessons from him."

"And who did you learn from?"

Marcellus smirked, "I didn't. I already knew, for I am not who you think I am. I am not, nor have I ever been, your brother. I simply look like you. I am Ayreon, the Universal Migrator. I am far beyond you, or Potter. My opponent in this battle is Dorian the Grey, the Watcher."

"So, what do you do?" Voldemort asked with a scowl upon his snake face.

Ayreon laughed, "I am the Universal Migrator, the Final Experiment. I have come to initiate the Sixth Extinction, and purge this world of all life. Potter has the Watcher, you have me. Simply put, I am merely your ally in this battle. Rest assured, if we win, I will not destroy you. But, you are in a game right now, of Immortals and Gods. You would do well to remember your place."

"My place?" Voldemort asked, furious that someone would dare question his own power.

Marcellus replied, "Yes, your place. You see, I've got millennia for experience. You've only got a few decades. It should be enough for Potter, but you would never stand a chance against Dorian. Not unless you were to claim this world for your own, and rule it for a thousand years, absorbing all knowledge there is to be absorbed, as I have done hundreds of times."

Voldemort looked slightly envious, "Do you have true immortality? No Horcruxes?"

"My immortality is strange. You see….."

(Harry)

"Ayreon was a blind minstrel during the early sixth century. Sometime during his life, he was targeted by a Computer program called Time Telepathy, a transmission of humanity's decline due to overuse of technology. The transmissions granted him a strange type of immortality. If his soul and body are not killed at the exact same time, then he will continue to exist. I've already defeated the Universal Migrator several times, but he always manages to escape." Dorian explained as they walked towards the entrance of the Summoning Room.

Harry nodded, "So, that means that Ayreon is a far more dangerous opponent than Voldemort, right?"

"Yes, but it will remain your task to defeat Voldemort. In fact, the only way you could ever match up against Ayreon would be for you to rule the world for a thousand years, and absorb all of its knowledge and power. As he has already done hundreds of times."

"H-H-Hundreds of times? But that's impossible!" Harry exclaimed.

"Not really. You're in a game of Immortals and Gods right now, Harry. You will need to be careful. Take on Voldemort, and Voldemort alone. I will handle the Migrator."

Harry nodded, "Alright then. Now, how are we going to explain this to the others?"

"Let me do the talking. We will sortie shortly."

The two left the Summoning Room and entertained a tired force of roughly a hundred people. Dorian's appearance had an effect upon the people within. Lupin shouted, "Harry, who is this?"

Harry held his hand out towards the Watcher, "This is Watcher. His name is Dorian the Grey. He will fight with us in this battle."

Hermione looked upon the Watcher with a frightened face, "Harry, you know how dangerous a Summoning is don't you?"

Dorian laughed arrogantly, "Of course he does. He wouldn't have tried it if it wasn't dangerous. Just the type of man he is. I've been watching, pun intended, all of your battles thus far. I must say, your resilience is up to the standards needed in what is rapidly becoming a game of Gods and Immortals. There will be such an opponent in the coming battle."

"He speaks of Voldemort's 'Brother.' Marcellus Riddle does not, nor has he ever, existed. In reality, he is a Dimensional Rogue named Ayreon. His official title is the Universal Migrator." Harry explained to the incredulous audience.

Suffice to say, Hermione was the first one to express her disbelief, "Harry, you've asked, forced, demanded, me to do many things. But, are you really insisting we believe in the Parallel Dimensions Theorem? There's no evidence of that existing at all!"

Dorian explained in a dull tone, "If it is evidence you want, then I should be all you need. I'm Dorian the Grey, The Watcher, He Who Watches the Heavens. I can tell you that this Reality is a blissful paradise compared to most of the ones I have seen. I've seen realities where the fate of the world was forced upon crews of regular people. I can tell you, that you are lucky. The crux upon which this world will change can be in no better hands than Harry Potter's."

"It is with that in mind that we must now prepare for our final assault on Voldemort. But, this is just the beginning." Harry said, looking as many people in the eye that he could, "Voldemort was the product of a corrupt system that must be destroyed and replaced. For too long has Magical Britain labored under an outdated, medieval style government that discriminates just as easily as any normal man. For a new civilization to arise, the old must be destroyed. That new civilization begins today!"

Runes began to glow all around the sanctum. The statues upon the walls began to come to life, and walk around. Ron exclaimed, "Bloody fucking hell, Harry! What the hell is this?"

"Animation runes, my friends. I knew, that in the end, we would need more than we had in terms of troops. So I took what I could get, and created some. These are golems." Harry said with a chuckle, as the bronze colored statues uniformly knelt before him. There were nearly thirty in total.

Each golem was armed with a massive halberd that had a glittering orb at the tip of the spike of the halberd. Harry declared, "These Gate Guardians shall form our advancing phalanx upon which we shall break Voldemort's army! Come, my Order, we do battle!"

A/N: Don't know why, but I've been holding this chapter for awhile now. Something just didn't, still doesn't, feel right about it.

A year?: So how many fans of this story, if they still exist, want to kill me for holding onto this for over a year?


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 The Seven Angels Part IV: Ayreon

"_You've been fighting for your soul, and sometimes it takes a toll. Hope one day you'll understand, what it means to hold in hand, what they call a fantasy. It is nothing but a key to the world that now you're in. That they call a waking dream." _Avantasia, "_The Seven Angels." _

"Come my friends! To battle!" Harry shouted as the Army of Hogwarts emerged from the ruins of the castle to do battle with the remains of Voldemort's army. Harry directed, "Use the Golems for cover! Avada Kedavra can't hurt them, and the only way to blow them up is with a really powerful Blasting Curse! Plus, they can heal you! Stay close!"

Lupin was actually riding on top of one of the Slave Golems, firing AK's off along with the Golem's long range magic blasts, for double the effect. Harry shouted again, "Take them down! Leave none of them alive! Make them pay for our, nay, your sacrifices!"

Harry pulled out his Rune Pen, and began drawing runes on some of the paper he had in his robes, taking cover amidst the golems. He did simple ones, like the explosion papers he had made when he first became a Rune Reader. He stepped out, and Banished several slips at the Death Eater horde. He triggered the runes with his Pen. Large blasts of fire exploded into the night, blasting the Death Eater Shield Wall apart.

He ordered the charge to commence, pulling out the Death Wand, and firing an Avada Kedavra into the sky. He pointed at a Death Eater that had closed with him, and fired an over powered Reducto at him. The Blasting hex hit the man, and blew his chest cavity wide open, instantly killing the man.

Harry shouted loudly, "Flamma Iaculis!" and pointed the Elder Wand at the advance Death Eaters. Massive gouts of flame burst forward in a cone formation, searing into the formation. The screams of men being burned to death reached his ears, but he ignored them. He pointed at another squadron, shouting, "Augue!" and firing a large ball of flame at them. The squad immediately broke, and was picked apart by the advancing Hogwarts Army.

Soon, the Death Eaters had been picked apart, and were in a rout. Harry shouted, "All men, hunt them down! Leave no survivors! Do not let them repeat what has been done to us!"

Lupin shouted back, "Yes, Harry Potter!"

Suddenly, a large beam of bright blue color slammed into the midst of his army. The beam scythed through his remaining forces, tearing them down. He lost almost fifty men instantly, lowering his force down to half. Lupin shouted at an aghast Harry, "What the hell was that?"

Dorian hefted his halberd, "That…was Ayreon's signature spell, called Time Wave Zero. It manipulates the time of an area back to its origin state, reducing them to a subatomic level. Order the men to spread out. I've seen entire armies completely destroyed by it!"

Harry nodded, and bellowed his orders, "SPREAD OUT!"

Lupin, who yet remained, began executing the orders. Snape walked up to Harry, taking cover behind one of the downed Golems, "Harry, this is madness. We can't fight under these circumstances!"

Harry flinched, but otherwise didn't acknowledge Snape's concerns, if only because he was right. With an enemy who could unleash such devastating attacks, not even counting Voldemort himself, they were up the creek without a paddle so to speak.

Dorian suddenly smirked, "Don't worry, Harry. I've just found Ayreon. I'll handle him by drawing him off. You and the others focus on Voldemort."

"Alright. I hope you can handle this bastard."

Harry turned back to his men, "Ok, so, we're getting a distraction! Everyone on me, I've got a trick up my sleeve for this." He began to draw up a trigger sequence of runes.

(Ayreon)

The Universal Migrator gripped his conjured staff harshly. The Watcher was deliberately drawing him away from the enemy army, to prevent excessive loss on their part. Unfortunately, neither Ayreon nor Voldemort could ignore the threat that he posed. Therefore, Ayreon was going to have to abandon the man he had actually begun to appreciate a little. Voldemort had no problem with allowing the Migrator to leave, because it was no secret that he wanted to kill Harry Potter personally. Ayreon had the feeling that that desire would be the downfall of his "brother" but didn't voice his suspicions.

Instead, the Migrator, now sporting his natural look rather than looking like Tom Riddle, confidently followed the Watcher's target path. His natural appearance was something of note. He had long, coal black hair, not at all unlike a long version of Potter's hair. He wore crimson red robes, reminiscent of some Crimson King of old. However, his most notable feature, was that he didn't have eyes at all.

Ayreon was born blind, and became a minstrel, telling the tales that he had heard during his rather long life for a sixth century Briton. However, when he was middle aged, though for his time, he was ancient, at the age of 35, he received powerful visions in his dreams. These dreams were titled: "The Final Experiment of Mankind."

Based on his own interpretation of the visions, they were sent from the far future, and designed to prevent mankind from destroying itself. However, he quickly realized that his position was not one that could change the world. So he took his knowledge, and became powerful. But, that didn't mean he was infallible. He and the Watcher, and a couple of others, including a notable World Traveler like himself, had had several run ins, with victory and defeat coming hand in hand.

But, this time, he would emerge victorious, he thought, as he saw the immaculate form of the Watcher emerge from the rising sun. His ebon black armor glittered in the power of the rising sun, like an up close sunspot, casting a massive shadow upon himself. Ayreon pointed his conjured crystalline staff at the Watcher, shouting, "So, Watcher, we meet again."

"So we do, Ayreon, the Universal Migrator. The Plague of the Worlds."

"Why are you here, Dorian the Grey? Why do you fight here?" Ayreon inquired.

The Watcher answered, "I have a vested interest in this world. So do you. Thus we fight."

"You're worried about the one they call the Lord Captain aren't you? You're trying to rally the worlds against him."

The golden eyes of the Watcher hardened, "Naturally. You wouldn't think I would allow that idiot to take control over our Universe would you?"

"He'll be more powerful than you are if you delay the inevitable conflict but so long. He's already forged his own kingdom, and has destiny on his side. The power of the universe at his fingertips will surpass even both of us put together. And he commands the Power of the element Light." The Migrator said.

Dorian took off his ebon helmet, revealing his grey hair and scarred visage. He raged, "I don't need you to tell me that. That one will be my bane. So, I fight this battle knowing that this might be my last victory. Are you prepared for such inevitability, Ayreon?"

"I could say yes. I could say no. Does it really matter what my answer is? That answer, is no."

Dorian smirked, "I'm glad we can agree on that. That neither one of us really gives a fuck about the other's answers."

The fabric of the world began to shake as two men, two who didn't belong there, began to face off.

(Elsewhere)

Night still reigned over the battlefield. Craters riddled Hogwarts' grounds. The armies had begun to dwindle. Now, artificial weapons ruled the day. Not even Voldemort's elite could stand against the golems of Harry Potter for long. Harry's wizards began to cut a bloody swathe through the Death Eaters, supporting their golems.

Harry smirked arrogantly as he smote down another nameless Death Eater. Slowly, they were falling apart. The battle was now in Harry Potter's hands. A flash of green light soared past his shoulder. He turned to the source, and his wish was granted. Voldemort approached.

Harry bowed to the Dark Lord, who hissed in response. Harry jeered, "The snake has finally reared his head. Is it blind? Or was it fleeing? Those are the questions."

Voldemort scoffed, "Neither, Potter. I have come to put you down, like I should have long ago. Now, bow to death."

"I've already bowed to Death, and his name wasn't Tom Riddle. He desires your soul quite greatly, you know."

Voldemort replied with a vile looking purple curse. Harry raised a spike of earth from the ground, and watched as the spell dissolve right through the stone. He sidestepped in time to keep the acid away, and fired back. Voldemort deflected the spear of light with a flick of his wand, and returned with a Killer Curse.

Harry backed up slightly and shielded his eyes as the curse kicked up a cloud of dust. With a smile, Harry sent an Expelliarmus at Voldemort. The Dark Wizard easily sidestepped the weak hex. Instead, he was hit from the other side by a Sectumsempra that severed his right hand. The snake like wizard cursed in anger, while Harry laughed.

Voldemort hadn't expected to be put against the wall. He hissed in wrath as he used an Incendio to cauterize the bleeding stump of a right hand. Harry caught him off guard, and hit him with a yellowish spell. Blisters began to pop up on the severed stump.

Voldemort growled as the infection began to spread throughout his body. Harry dodged the Dark Lord's Killing Curse, it's sickly green light streaking into the night. Harry pulled out his rune pen, and began writing on tiny scraps he carried. He threw one at Voldemort, who ignored it.

Harry detonated the explosive rune, and watched the Dark Lord's body catch flame as he lay on the ground. Voldemort yelled in pain, unwilling to show weakness, but unable to contain the pain. Harry did not hesitate. He began firing salvo after salvo of his own Killing Curses.

Despite the burns on his body, Voldemort dodged. Harry figured it was a testament to the sheer will and desire of his enemy to see him dead, that he would put even more strain on something that could barely be called a body to begin with.

Finally, a curse struck home. Granted, it wasn't a Killing Curse, but it did enough damage. The sheer amount of magic on the grounds, was beginning to force Voldemort's magically conjured body apart. His arm was beginning to droop. His left hand was not reacting as fast as it should. His eyes were wide in recognition of his own folly.

Voldemort fired one last Killing Curse, which missed, before his body exploded in a green light. When the light faded, Tom Marvolo Riddle, the Darkest of the Dark Lords, no longer existed. All that remained were the robes he had clad himself in for the battle.

All around him, Harry could hear his allies cheering. He fell to his knees, the joy of victory overpowering his own will.

(With Dorian)

Massive cheers erupted all around the Grey Watcher. He shouldered his Earth Shaker, and smiled at the Migrator. Ayreon hissed, "What's with the smirk, Watcher?"

"I just won our battle, Migrator. Your time is up. Your champion has been slain, and mine stands victorious."

Ayreon dropped his staff, "That's impossible! There is no way Voldemort could lose to that scum of a being you call a champion!"

"Your champion wasn't the only champion with the power of the Lords, and this world is now his to command. Your anchor to this world is also gone."

Ayreon looked down at himself, and realization set in. Small emotes of blue energy were falling off his form. His magic was no longer holding him together, because he no longer had the right to be on the world.

Dorian's smile widened, "Of course, my own form will not hold for long. We of the Realm of the Ethereal are only allowed on warring worlds, after all. Luckily, I'm more powerful than you. Until we meet again, Ayreon the Universal Migrator."

With that, Dorian turned away from his rapidly disintegrating rival. He warped to Harry, who was celebrating, "Harry, we must speak."

Harry looked up, at first, there was a look of defiance, before Harry remembered their deal. Dorian led him away from the horde that was celebrating on the blasted fields, and near the charred skeletons of the Forbidden Forest.

"Harry, you have won. Ayreon will never trouble this world again, and the Darkness is once more in balance with the Light. But, like before, you have choices ahead of you. It is not the choices themselves, that are important, but rather, the consequences of those choices."

Harry nodded, "I know, Dorian. My choices can either lead me to rule the world, or destroy it. I may not have control over which happens. So I have to choose. Will I become the leader my forces, and the Wizarding world in general, so desperately need? Or will I slink into obscurity, and only arise when necessary, like Dumbledore?"

Dorian nodded, "If my advice can be taken, why not try a combination of both? After all, omnipotent rulers are generally seen as tyrants by the people they protect. It wouldn't do well for you to have to deal with a rebellion so soon after coming to power, given that Voldemort was just defeated."

"I like that idea, Dorian. Even after it all, I am still sort of loathe to take the reins of a peaceful government. People tend to be pickier about their rights and what not during peace."

Dorian smiled, "Now that's thinking like a ruler. Well," Dorian noticed his form beginning to take the route of his rival's, "I best be going back to the Ethereal Realm. Farewell, Harry Potter, may we meet again sometime down the road."

(Four Months Later…)

"It is with my pleasure, to announce the reopening of the Ministry of Magic to the Public! Minister Lupin, do you have any words?"

Remus stepped towards Harry, "Yes, I do, Warmaster."

Lupin enhanced his voice so that it would stretch over the Atrium:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is on this day, that we celebrate the ending of a war that started years before many of us were born. I lived most of my childhood with little knowledge of Voldemort's schemes. I spent most of my adult life fighting against his machinations. It is with great pleasure and exultation that I look towards a new day. A new day that has dawned without the looming threat of an attack. A new day that has dawned with more than just a glimmering of hope, rather an entire sun of hope shines down upon us!"

"Today, we commemorate the sacrifices of those who fell to make this new world possible! Today, we unveil a new Ministry, one that will not sit upon the urges of the corrupt, and will not fall to the depravities of the unjust."

Harry dozed slightly as Remus went on and on with a speech he had prepared for several weeks prior. Harry had informed him that he felt the old Werewolf would be the best figurehead for his new world. Old Guard members wouldn't like the idea of a Werewolf being the Minister, but Harry would deal with them.

He smiled as he walked towards Daphne and Tracy. Today was a good day.

A/N: That ends Rune Reader, a story that started off so promising, and by my own admission, turned into a travesty. That being said, the story ends with a very bitter taste in my mouth, in all odds, I may end up writing a sequel to it.

Rune Reader was my favorite idea, and turned into my least favorite story. It became an outright pain to write it, and frankly, I didn't really care too much about it. Still, it feels like something is missing from my heart, given how well this story was received to how badly it will probably end.

The Possible Sequel: It would deal with the retaliation of the Spirit world against Harry's rise to power. It would also introduce the mentioned "New Power" that was stirring in the Universe, as an antagonist.

This story's finishing is part of an attempt to finish some of my previously abandoned stories.


	14. The New Edition

Concerning a Rewrite

A/N: Alright, so I've decided to axe the idea of a sequel, and instead, will do a rewrite for the entire story. An small change log can be found on my profile. I will probably end up deleting the original Rune Reader for that, given that it will have a very similar title ( The Rune Reader instead), and likely have a different plot by comparison.

That being said, I will give preview words here.

* * *

_A tattered book sits unattended in a small, enchanted bag. It was easy to reach, but easy to miss._

The portrait of Albus Dumbledore was different from most portraits. Most portraits were simply imprints of the imaged person. But Albus' was different. Just as Albus Dumbledore the living was capable of abstract thinking and manipulation, so too, was the portrait. In fact, Albus had a second portrait done; he had Severus put it in his copy of Beedle the Bard's _Tales_ before his death.

Albus always knew that the power of love and absolute faith would win the day. He could not have accounted for the breaking of faith caused by Ronald Weasley, and exacerbated by Hermione Granger. He decided that it was a good time to change plans, and move Harry to a different quest. Severus wouldn't be pleased.

_A curved wand, made of Sphinx's bone, sits in a ruined stone house. It is in the Forest of Dean, but has never been discovered, thanks to ancient Wards of its former owners._

It was common knowledge that the Potters were the purest of the snow, the greatest of the followers of Light. However, history has a tendency to forget parts of the story, and there is much to be remembered here. History has ignored the Blood Barons of Clan Potter, thanks to the efforts of House Peverell. History would do well to remember them again, for the purest of Potters will be spoiled by their dark legacy.

_An orb made of clay sits on a pedestal, surrounded by the clockwork of a temple. It is unassuming, but it hides a secret that may be the savior of the magical peoples._

Humans and Goblins haven't always been enemies. There was once a time where they not only coexisted, but lived together peacefully. But, that all ended one day, thanks to the visions of a human seer and the greed of his goblin overseers. Still, his weapon, his creation, waits for revenge to be taken. Yet, even it, is only part of the answer.

_A thin blonde rattles around a well kept but old house in Muggle territory. She can't sleep at night, she can't sit still. But, she can still yearn for revenge._

The Greengrass family doesn't exist anymore. It was betrayed by its own scion. However, the eldest survived, thanks to the help of Severus Snape. Daphne Greengrass still lives, unsullied by the Mark, and she will have blood for the crimes committed against her.

_Two erstwhile friends turned lovers try to find away to help their ostracized best friend. They might find their help unwanted and unneeded._

Harry Potter is angry at the world, but mostly at his friends. How much of it is true, and how much is Locket based, he does not know. He also does not know, that within his blood, comes a dark rage that will consume all vestiges of passion in his heart, if he cannot control it.

_Oft-criticized and spurned, Gawain Robbards has had enough of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He is rallying Aurors from all corners of the British Isles to his banner, and he will do whatever it takes to see the Dark Lord dead._

Great Britain's Ministry of Magic may have fallen, but its cadet branches in Wales, Scotland and North Ireland have not. Until Voldemort himself marches into their hallowed halls, then they will resist, even if it means total eradication.

_A darkened Potions Master sits at the head of a desk he never wanted. He dreams of the old days, days before he became a Death Eater, and dares not look forward, for he knows that the future will not have a place for those like him._

Severus Snape is beset by both sides. The Death Eaters and the Order believe he is a traitor, a black stain on their efforts. Snape is loyal to the Light, but cannot blow his cover. He's already risked enough by helping Greengrass. Now, Dumbledore is asking him to meet Harry Potter and help him with a purging ritual that will destroy the remnants of the Dark Lord's Soul. Is the man insane?

_War has come and gone. Now the resistance begins, and rebellion is burning. There are no sides, only differing ideologies. Both sides commit atrocities, both sides kill at will. Who will win?_

Harry Potter is the answer to that question. Yet, he only holds more questions, after the dark revelations of the Savior, the wildness of the Quest, and the rage of his Blood, will fight as expected? Or will he do something entirely different, something his ancestors would be proud of?

He is the Rune Reader, the Savior in the Clock, the Chosen One, and the Boy-Who-Lived. His choices are the choices that will shape the world. He is the crux, the fulcrum, of the war. It will go as he wants, but perhaps he wants something the others do not expect? There may even be a greater consequence, for there is always the locked room of the Department of Mysteries.


End file.
